In his thesis, Hoeksema analyses the tech world from the perspective of the republican concept of freedom. This states that freedom not only means being left alone, but also being free from uncontrolled powers that can interfere with you. "In recent years, Mark Zuckerberg and Elon Musk have been increasingly vocal about wanting to give their users freedom, that there should be room for alternative voices on their platforms," Hoeksema explains. "However, the fact that a platform no longer interferes with you does not necessarily mean that you are free."
Arbitrary power restricts freedom
Hoeksema: "Think of it this way: in the Netherlands, we are free citizens because, in principle, we control government power ourselves. That is the essence of a democratic constitutional state. Although there are all kinds of restrictions, this principle means that you can still speak of free citizens. But if you look at large technology companies and the role they play in our society from the same perspective, it quickly becomes clear that they have a lot of uncontrolled power."
If Elon Musk doesn't like a certain topic, he can block users or tweak algorithms to make those discussions less visible. Meta's revenue models largely determine which videos and media are popular online and how we communicate with each other about them. Google can influence search results and thus determine which sites receive more attention than others. Hoeksema: “From a republican perspective, you can certainly speak of arbitrary power that puts pressure on our freedom.”
Room for opposition
Nevertheless, Hoeksema also sees opportunities to regain republican freedom. Unlike in the United States, where the power of tech companies is hardly restricted, he sees room for countervailing power in Europe. “The European Union is increasingly positioning itself as a party that wants standards and values to play a role in the digital world,” he says. "However, the focus is still often on preventing tech companies from becoming too big and on protecting consumer rights. The 'cookie law', for example, has also been important, but you actually need to tackle the underlying system to prevent digital dominance by companies. The European Union still has a lot to gain in this area."
Hoeksema advocates substantial investment in public digital infrastructure and in the “digital commons”—a shared digital space. This should result in social networks and online communication tools that are not controlled by a handful of administrators and investors, but which can develop freely based on the actual needs of citizens and European standards and values.
What can you do as a citizen?
Citizens themselves also have an important role to play in this, Hoeksema explains. “We can't get angry at Meta for using our data and then continue to use their services.” In his thesis, he argues for a revaluation of digital citizenship: citizens should not only behave as consumers, but also as responsible participants in the digital society. "It requires something from all of us: consciously choosing alternatives, even if they are less obvious at first glance. Only then, in combination with structural reforms, can we really influence what our digital world looks like."