Dr. Tobias Mast

Senior Researcher "Regulatory Structures and the Emergence of Rules in Online Spaces"

Dr. Tobias Mast is head of the research program “Regulatory Structures and the Emergence of Rules in Online Spaces” at the Leibniz Institute for Media Research | Hans-Bredow-Institut (HBI) since January 2022. His team investigates the rules under which new forms and practices of social understanding and self-assurance emerge in digital communication spaces, and especially in social networks.

After studying law at the University of Freiburg with a focus on information and media law, he completed his doctorate at the HBI with a thesis on the state’s public information activities from August 2015 until Ende of January 2019.

He completed his legal clerkship at the Hanseatic Higher Regional Court with stations at the Press Chamber of the Hamburg Regional Court, an internationally active commercial law firm and the Federal Constitutional Court. He then worked as a research assistant at the Federal Constitutional Court.

He is an associate editor at www.verfassungsblog.de and is pursuing a habilitation at the University of Mainz under the supervision of Prof. Dr. Matthias Bäcker. He is also a lecturer at the Universität Hamburg and an examiner in the state part of the first legal examination for the Hamburg Judicial Examination Office.

In January 2024, he was appointed as a Bundestag expert on German Digital Service Act for the execution of the EU Digital Services Act. He is also a lecturer at the Universität Hamburg and an examiner in the state section of the First Legal Examination for the Hamburg Judicial Examination Office.

Download list of publications and lectures in German (PDF) (July 2024)

Contact information

Dr. Tobias Mast

Senior Researcher "Regulatory Structures and the Emergence of Rules in Online Spaces"

Leibniz Institute for Media Research | Hans-Bredow-Institut (HBI)
Rothenbaumchaussee 36
20148 Hamburg
Germany

Last update: 02.08.2024

Works by Dr. Tobias Mast

Cover of the Handbook Media and Communication Governance
Publikation accessible open access

Private Ordering of Media

In a handbook article, Tobias Mast, Matthias C. Kettemann and Wolfgang Schulz address the question of how media organizations and platform operators setprivate law through, for example, their terms and conditions.

Symbolbild von rotunde

Coding Public Value

How can we develop software that is not only oriented towards business models, but also towards the common good, user interests, and media regulation? Coding Public Value (CPV) translates questions on media law into approaches and methods for a responsible software engineering.

Auf einem weißen Schreitisch liegen Tastatur, Handy und ein Kameraobjektiv
Projekt Pilot Project Computational Social Science

Journalistic Use of Information Environments Influenced by Algorithms

The pilot project in the field of computational social science used browser data donations to investigate how relevant the offerings of individual search engines and social media are in the everyday work of journalists.

Wandbild von Menschen mit Gepäck und Schriftzug "Made in Crisis"
Projekt BMBF Project

Communication in Times of Crisis

How do communications change in a crisis like the COVID-19 pandemic? What role do actors from science, politics and the media take over? How do they deal with uncertainty from this situation? A project that reviewed existing studies and interviewed experts provided answers to this question.

Digitaler ahmmer au
Projekt Funded by Stiftung Mercator

Platform Democracy

How could "platform councils" or other institutions for integrating public interests into platform rule-making processes ensure that public interests and democratic values are taken into account? A new project is embarking on a search for global best practice models.

Mann auf Rolltreppe
Projekt BMBF Project

Media and Science Communication

How do scientific findings about journalistic media and social media get into the world? What criteria do science editors use to select topics? And what impact can scientific content have with it?

Blick vom Weltraum auf die nächtliche Erde mit Lichtspots
Projekt International Cooperation Project

Global Media and Internet Concentration

The international Global Media & Internet Concentration Project (GMICP) analyses communication, internet and media markets in nearly 40 countries. The HBI is responsible for collecting and reporting the data for Germany.

KI-generiertes Bild einer Schaufensterpuppe in sonniger Einkaufsstraße mit Passant*innen
Projekt Expert Opinion for the KJM

Labeling of Edited (Influencer) Photos

Must, should, may digitally edited photos in social media be labeled? On behalf of the Commission for the Protection of Minors in the Media (KJM), the HBI is investigating the necessity of a legal labeling requirement for edited photos and videos.

Buchcover "Sozialer Zusammenhalt vor Ort"
Publikation From the Research Institute Social Cohesion

Social Cohesion on the Ground

A new volume in the publication series of the Research Institute Social Cohesion (RISC) presents articles on the topic of "Local Social Cohesion". This includes an article by Jan-Hindrik Schmidt and Hannah Immler, both researchers at the FGZ's Hamburg site at the HBI, on Local Media Repertoires and Cohesion-Related Attitudes.

Cover of the Working Paper Trust in News Sources
Publikation Working Paper No. 71 Available for Download

Trust in Established News Sources

In Germany, trust in established news sources can best be explained by age: Older internet users tend to place more trust in the news than younger ones.

Cover of the dissertation
Publikation Dissertation Published!

Legal Protection through Decision Architectures

In his dissertation written at the HBI, Johannes Schmees deals with the state's use of algorithmic decision-making systems and its constitutional control. The entire work has now been published open access by Duncker und Humblot Verlag.

Publikationscover Übersetzung von politischen Beratungsdokumenten
Publikation Enabling Political Consulting

Theses on the Translation Performance of Advisory Documents at the Interface of Science and Policy

The thesis paper provides practical tips on how scientific consultation documents should be created and used.

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