Hamburg, 10th November 2026 – A broad coalition of civil society organisations has called on the Minister-Presidents of the federal states to prohibit major internet platforms from discriminating against links. Initial signatories include renowned authors such as Nina George, Marc-Uwe Kling and Saša Stanišić, artists such as Rocko Schamoni, and media scholars and journalists.
“Links are the lifeblood of the internet. Because Big Tech penalises them, the free internet is dying”, says Björn Staschen, co-founder of Save Social – Networks for Democracy. Currently, Instagram, TikTok and other Big Tech platforms discriminate against so-called ‘outlinks’. These are either blocked or restricted (in which case a link is only permitted ‘in the bio’), or their dissemination is penalised by reduced reach.
While the current draft of the State Treaty on Digital Media does stipulate that large platforms should no longer discriminate against such links, this only applies to journalistic and editorial content. The Save Social – Networks for Democracy initiative is therefore calling on the Minister-Presidents to extend this provision to all links. The initiative argues that associations, initiatives, cultural practitioners, small businesses, academics, and private individuals must also be able to freely disseminate their content.
Voices
Links are not a nuisance; they are the very glue that holds the open internet together. When platforms decide which content is visible and which is not, not only is the reach of individual posts jeopardised, but so too is the diversity of voices online. Therefore, the message is clear: a free internet can only exist if everyone is free to link to content.
Tim Berners-Lee created the web as an open structure, but the tech giants have closed off their platforms, doing away with this openness. Freeing up outbound links is one way to overcome this user lock-in.
Those who run charities, produce podcasts or are involved in community work should not have to appease algorithms just to reach people. We need an internet where links connect people rather than platforms holding their users captive. This would also be a first step towards interoperability between Big Tech platforms.
The petition on Campact’s WeAct campaign platform has approximately 40 initial signatories, including the artist Rocko Schamoni, authors Nina George, Marc-Uwe Kling and Saša Stanišić, presenter Ralph Caspers, media studies professor Gabriele Hooffacker, tech blogger Sascha Pallenberg, and the organisations Digitalcourage e.V. and the Illustrators’ Organisation.
The petition, launched by the non-profit initiative Save Social – Networks For Democracy, has already been signed by more than 25,000 people.
