Communications and Media Law

How did internet law come about, and which rulings continue to shape the digital world to this day? In the latest episode of the HÄRTING|fm anniversary series, the firm’s founder, Prof. Niko Härting, talks to Dr Martin Schirmbacher and Carl Nowak about 30 years of internet regulation, platform liability and the development of the law in the age of digital transformation.

In episode 198 of “Follow the Rechtsstaat”, Prof. Niko Härting and Dr Stefan Brink discuss the planned data retention scheme, data protection breaches involving Snapchat’s AI chatbot “My AI”, and the protection of journalistic sources in the Hamburg “Block” case.

Transparency is the focus of episode 199: Prof. Niko Härting and Dr Stefan Brink discuss an AfD data breach, data protection rights to access information in relation to examinations and SCHUFA credit scoring, as well as the latest developments regarding intelligence services and the protection of journalistic sources.

In episode 198 of “Follow the Rechtsstaat”, Prof. Niko Härting and Dr Stefan Brink discuss the planned data retention scheme, data protection breaches involving Snapchat’s “My AI” chatbot, and the seizure of journalistic materials in connection with the Hamburg Block trial.

In episode 196 of “Follow the Rechtsstaat”, Prof. Niko Härting and Dr Stefan Brink discuss the 75th anniversary of the Federal Constitutional Court, the new Federal Data Protection Commissioner Moritz Hennemann, and a recent Federal Court of Justice ruling on the media privilege under the GDPR.

In episode 197 of ‘Follow the Rechtsstaat’, Prof. Niko Härting and Dr Stefan Brink discuss the protection of minors on online platforms, the copyright limitations of AI training, and access to government documents relating to Olaf Scholz’s ‘Zeitenwende’ speech.

AI training data, the Digital Omnibus, the protection of children’s biometric data and freedom of assembly are the focus of episode 191.

Regulation 2024/900 on the transparency and targeting of political advertising (TTPW) has been in force since 10 October 2025. Through the TTPW, the European legislator aims to prevent the improper influencing of political decisions. The rationale behind the TTPW is undoubtedly an important one: political advertising interferes with legislative processes and electoral decisions. Where this involves disinformation, it can be highly problematic. However, the TTPW goes further and places political advertising as such under general suspicion. This regulatory flaw must always be borne in mind when applying the TTPW. The provisions of the TTPW are complex. This is likely one of the reasons why the Commission has published guidance on the implementation of the TTPW. Similar to other European regulatory frameworks, the TTPW also provides for sanctions which apply in addition to other sanction regimes, in particular those of the GDPR. The national data protection supervisory authorities are responsible for enforcing the TTPW. Presumably due to its proximity to ‘political Berlin’, the Data Protection Conference has agreed that, in Germany, the Berlin supervisory authority will take the lead in dealing with the TTPW. The first proceedings are already underway, including those in which we are involved. In this series of articles, we will present selected legal issues relating to the TTPW and provide initial answers to the numerous legal questions arising from the application of the Regulation.

In episode 190 of “Follow the Rechtsstaat”, Prof. Niko Härting and Dr Stefan Brink discuss a domain dispute between law firms, gambling law, Meta’s smart glasses and a serious security breach in a prayer app. First up is a ruling by the Higher Regional Court of Cologne dated 22 July 2026. A law firm had registered the German version of another firm’s domain name and redirected visitors to its own website. The Higher Regional Court deemed the registration and use of the third-party domain to be a breach of competition law. Härting and Brink then discuss a ruling by the Halle Administrative Court concerning the administrative practices of the Joint Gambling Authority of the German federal states. The conversation then turns once again to Meta’s smart glasses and a criminal complaint filed by HateAid against Meta and Ray-Ban. Finally, the pair discuss a security breach in the official prayer app ‘Click to Pray’, through which the personal data of around 720,000 registered users is said to have been accessible without authentication.