Digital Media Market Reform of 2024 - Saxenheim

Rationale

These changes modernise regulations to boost competition, as well as consumers' choice, and innovation whilst reducing unnecessary government oversight for public benefit (especially considering that age ratings are too discretionary).

Proposed Changes

	Law	Previous		Proposed
1	Streaming & Content Regulation	Open entry with light local-content quotas		Open market with foreign broadcaster ownership allowed and platform interoperability required
2	Video Game Regulation	Mandatory age ratings enforced at sale		Industry self-rating; no statutory limits

1

Streaming & Content Regulation

Previous law

Open entry with light local-content quotas

Open market with foreign broadcaster ownership allowed and platform interoperability required

2

Video Game Regulation

Previous law

Mandatory age ratings enforced at sale

Industry self-rating; no statutory limits

Proposer

Party

Alliance For Digital Freedom And Rights

ADFR is a centre-to-centre-left, social-liberal party. We advocate for an open and neutral Internet, strong privacy rights, a digital PA and an eco-social market economy. We focus on white-collar professionals and innovative companies, ensuring technology expands freedom and opportunities for all.

Core pillars

Anton Vogel

Activist · Age 36

71,501 social followers

A cybersecurity expert and ethical hacker, Anton Vogel rose to fame by exposing bureaucratic corruption and inefficiency, leveraging his expertise and massive following to put the accelerator on the digitalisation of the country.

🚀 Ambitious ⭐ Celebrity 🏙️ Street Smart 🔗 Well Connected

Timeline

Draft

23 July 2024
Vote Open

23 July 2024
Withdrawn

16 August 2024
Never Became Law

16 August 2024

Vote tally

Live tally across each chamber. Weighted by seats held.

Bundesrat

Passed

39Yes 20No 5Abstained 5Not voted 69 seats

For: 39 / 69 seats (56.5%)

Against: 20 · Abstained: 5 · Not voted: 5

50.1% of those voting must vote in favour (actual = 66.1%)

Party	Seats	Vote	Reason
Alliance For Digital Freedom And Rights Proposer	31	Yes	No reason given
Alliance23	8	Yes	As much as A23 wishes to see local content on streaming platforms, this bill delivers fairer and freer content regulation.
Left Forward	5	Abstain	Making streaming platforms interoperable could make it easier for people to switch services without losing access to the content they pay for. But that does not mean we should leave everything else to the market. Removing legal age limits for video games and trusting the industry to regulate itself is irresponsible. These ratings exist to protect children, and they need to be enforced. Parents should not have to rely on publishers marking their own homework. Opening markets must not mean abandoning basic protections.
Saxenheim Workers’ Union	20	No	We should reject these changes because removing mandatory age ratings would weaken protections for minors and leave important standards entirely to the industry itself. While greater competition and consumer choice are valuable, they should not come at the expense of basic safeguards. Foreign ownership and platform interoperability can also be addressed without removing sensible regulation.
Empty seats	5	Not voted

Bundestag

Passed

361Yes 187No 50Abstained 52Not voted 650 seats

For: 361 / 650 seats (55.5%)

Against: 187 · Abstained: 50 · Not voted: 52

50.1% of those voting must vote in favour (actual = 65.9%)

Party	Seats	Vote	Reason
Alliance For Digital Freedom And Rights Proposer	286	Yes	No reason given
Alliance23	75	Yes	As much as A23 wishes to see local content on streaming platforms, this bill delivers fairer and freer content regulation.
Left Forward	50	Abstain	Making streaming platforms interoperable could make it easier for people to switch services without losing access to the content they pay for. But that does not mean we should leave everything else to the market. Removing legal age limits for video games and trusting the industry to regulate itself is irresponsible. These ratings exist to protect children, and they need to be enforced. Parents should not have to rely on publishers marking their own homework. Opening markets must not mean abandoning basic protections.
Saxenheim Workers’ Union	187	No	We should reject these changes because removing mandatory age ratings would weaken protections for minors and leave important standards entirely to the industry itself. While greater competition and consumer choice are valuable, they should not come at the expense of basic safeguards. Foreign ownership and platform interoperability can also be addressed without removing sensible regulation.
Empty seats	52	Not voted

Voting record

Every vote must state a public reason. Most recent first.

Left Forward

Voted Aug. 14, 2024

Abstain

“Making streaming platforms interoperable could make it easier for people to switch services without losing access to the content they pay for. But that does not mean we should leave everything else to the market. Removing legal age limits for video games and trusting the industry to regulate itself is irresponsible. These ratings exist to protect children, and they need to be enforced. Parents should not have to rely on publishers marking their own homework. Opening markets must not mean abandoning basic protections.”

Saxenheim Workers’ Union

Voted Aug. 8, 2024

No

“We should reject these changes because removing mandatory age ratings would weaken protections for minors and leave important standards entirely to the industry itself. While greater competition and consumer choice are valuable, they should not come at the expense of basic safeguards. Foreign ownership and platform interoperability can also be addressed without removing sensible regulation.”

Alliance23

Voted July 25, 2024

Yes

“As much as A23 wishes to see local content on streaming platforms, this bill delivers fairer and freer content regulation.”