Today’s guest is Markus Beckedahl, a network political activist and journalist. He founded the company Newthinking Communications in 2003 and launched netzpolitik.org in 2002. He is also a co-founder of re:publica, a digital conference. Markus is known for his expertise in network politics in Germany and often appears on radio and television to discuss network policy issues. In 2015, he faced an investigation for treason due to the publication of a report by the Office for the Protection of the Constitution on netzpolitik.org.
Markus is a strong advocate for defending civil rights online and takes steps to control the information available about him online. He started his career by assembling PCs and even turned it into a small business. In an interview, he discussed his realization that the internet is a space where civil liberties must be defended and how his ideas for netzpolitik.org came about. Markus prioritizes focusing on the issues rather than himself, discussing topics such as state trojans, data retention, and AI regulation. He recently stepped down as editor-in-chief of netzpolitik.org.
In the interview, Markus shares the reasons behind his resignation and talks about his current endeavors. The full episode can be listened to for more information. The episode was sponsored by HP Store, a one-stop shop for tech needs, and listeners can receive a discount by using the code HPMITX10. The podcast “Unscripted” is one of the three formats offered by MIT Technology Review, focusing on exciting personalities from science, technology, and society. The magazine also offers a monthly deep dive into a topic and a weekly news podcast.
