Ph.D. Jens Pohlmann

Centre for Media, Communication & Information Research (ZeMKI); University of Bremen

Jens Pohlmann

Free Speech, Regulation, and Democracy in the Digital Age – A Digital Discourse Analysis of Transatlantic Internet Policy Differences

In my research project, I am comparing the internet policy discourse in Germany and the United States and examine the ways in which important stakeholders on both sides of the Atlantic aim to shape and regulate the digital public sphere. I use computational methods such as frequency analysis, topic modelling, and named entity recognition to analyze this discourse and I have compiled text and metadata from tech blog entries, traditional media coverage, social media platforms and academic journals to examine the communicative strategies of the stakeholders acting within these different media environments. I particularly focus on the discussion about the regulation of hate speech online based on various pieces of legislation from Germany and the US. At stake is the question of how a highly technical and juridical expert discourse as this one can be translated for a more democratic discussion and political decision-making in broader society. During my fellowship at CAIS, I am generating a research grant proposal for this project.

Main Research Topics

  • Transatlantic Internet Policy
  • Platform Regulation
  • Free vs Hate Speech
  • Theories of the Public Sphere
  • Digital Discourse Analysis

Curriculum Vitae

  • Research Associate at the Centre for Media, Communication & Information Research (ZeMKI), University of Bremen (2020 to current)
  • Visiting Scholar at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, MIT (2021-2022)
  • Gerda Henkel Postdoctoral Fellow in Digital History; German Historical Institute, Washington D.C. and George Mason University (2018-2019)
  • Associate Researcher, Alexander von Humboldt Institute for Internet and Society (HIIG), Berlin (2017-2018)
  • Ph.D. in German Studies, Stanford University (2017)

Publications and Presentations

  • Pohlmann, J., Barbaresi, A., & Leinen, P. (forthcoming). Platform Regulation and “Overblocking” – The NetzDG Discourse in Germany. Communications.
  • Pohlmann, J., Barbaresi, A., & Leinen, P. (in press). Der Diskurs zum Netzwerkdurchsetzungsgesetz auf deutschen IT-Blogs und in bundesweiten Tageszeitungen. Buchreihe „Mediensymposium“.
  • Barbaresi, A., & Pohlmann, J. (2021). A Reproducible IT-Blog Corpus. Journal of Open Humanities Data, 7: X, 1–4. https://doi.org/10.5334/johd.35
  • Barbaresi, A., & Pohlmann, J. (2020). Mapping the German Tech Blog Sphere and Its Influence on Digital Policy. In S. Breidenbach, P. Klimczak, & C. Petersen (Eds.), Soziale Medien (pp. 139–157). Springer Fachmedien. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-658-30702-8_7

Ph.D. Jens Pohlmann

Centre for Media, Communication & Information Research (ZeMKI); University of Bremen

Fellow at CAIS from April to September 2023