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.
Härting and Brink begin by examining the protection of minors on online platforms. This follows a legal dispute concerning the blocking of the pornography platforms Pornhub and YouPorn. The discussion centres on the European country-of-origin principle, the jurisdiction of media regulatory authorities and the requirements of the Digital Services Act (DSA).
They then turn their attention to copyright in the context of AI training. The two discuss a ruling by a US court on 29 September 2026, which did not consider the use of copyright-protected training data for artificial intelligence training to constitute ‘fair use’.
Finally, Härting and Brink discuss freedom of information and access to government documents. The FragDenStaat initiative is demanding access to drafts and templates for the ‘Zeitenwende’ speech delivered by the then Federal Chancellor Olaf Scholz on 27 February 2022. The Higher Administrative Court of Berlin-Brandenburg upheld the refusal to grant access to the information, but allowed an appeal to be lodged with the Federal Administrative Court.