Regulation of Cross-Media Concentration Processes

Media are, as the Federal Constitutional Court continually emphasises in its jurisdiction, both medium and factor in public opinion-forming. The legislator is, therefore, obliged to prevent the exercise of unilateral influence on public opinion resulting from a concentration of power among publicists. This requires special precautions against the development of dominant cross-media influences on public opinion, i.e. opinion-forming through different media types. As regards the configuration of these precautions, the scope available to legislators is broad.

The PhD project investigates the question as to how cross-media concentration processes especially may be covered by regulation. In this regard, the project reviews the media-specific concentration control, which according to §§ 26 ff. RStV (Interstate Broadcasting Treaty) focuses on the prevention of dominant influence on public opinion through television, as well as antitrust merger control, which relates to the prevention of a market-dominating position with ensuing dominance in economic power.

As to the question whether the broadcast-centered system of media-specific concentration control should be applied, on one hand, the limits set by constitutional law for the scope of legislation will be explored. On the other hand, the extent to which the antitrust law, as applied through the limitation of economic power, may restrict dominant influence on public opinion, should be examined. The results of the survey will then be used to draw conclusions possibly indicating a restructuring of media-specific concentration law.