"Tech Corporations Skim Profits, Costs Borne by Media and Society": Ingrid Brodnig on the "Unfair Deal"

Ingrid Brodnig, a prominent digital expert and columnist for DER STANDARD, has shed light on the critical challenges facing media freedom today, particularly in the digital era. In an interview, she articulated what she considers the most pressing issue: the profound societal inequality generated by social media and other tech corporations.

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the societal inequality that social media and other tech companies generate.

Brodnig's analysis points to a fundamental imbalance where large tech platforms amass significant profits by extracting value from user data and content, while the media outlets and society at large are left to manage the negative externalities and costs. This "unfair deal," as she describes it, places immense pressure on the traditional media landscape, impacting its sustainability and its ability to fulfill its democratic role.

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the platforms skim profits, while media and society bear the costs.

Reflecting on the current digital ecosystem, Brodnig proposes the intriguing concept of an "Arte of social media"—a nod to the successful European public-service broadcaster Arte, known for its high-quality cultural programming. This suggests a need for alternative models that prioritize public good and journalistic integrity over pure profit motives. From an Austrian perspective, where public broadcasting has a strong tradition, this idea resonates as a potential pathway toward a more equitable and reliable digital public sphere, countering the dominance of platforms that currently dictate the flow of information.

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the "Arte of social media"