Andreas Gebhard, one of the founders of the digital conference Republica, has strongly advised a clear linguistic and practical separation from the successor platform X, following Elon Musk’s takeover of Twitter. According to Gebhard, the platform must be referred to as “X” because it fundamentally represents something different. The name, the owner, their agenda, and the underlying technology have all changed. He warns that the site now acts as an echo chamber for the political right, concluding that “Twitter, as it was, no longer exists”.
Consequently, Republica has completely ceased using the network and recommends the same action to others. Gebhard pointed out that users are not obligated to be on X-just as they do not need to be on Donald Trump’s platform, Truth Social. Furthermore, he dismissed the effort of trying to counter propaganda on X, labeling it a futile fight against fake accounts run by bots.
Shifting focus to child and youth protection and potential social media regulations, the tech expert noted that action is required outside of parental responsibility. He believes that the legislature, not just parents, should make these decisions. Currently, technology providers are given too much leeway regarding what children encounter online. While he opposes blanket bans, Gebhard supports the idea of clear age restrictions, similar to those applied to films and video games. He argues that such protection mechanisms should be pre-installed by default on devices, rather than being presented as an option for parents to activate.
Finally, Gebhard advocated for a systemic shift in digital infrastructure towards open-source solutions, a move that would preclude the use of devices like iPads in educational settings. By example, Schleswig-Holstein, under Minister-President Daniel Günther (CDU), is transitioning both its education and administrative sectors to open source, following the guiding principle: “Public money, public code”. He emphasized that if public funds are invested in software, the benefit must accrue to the general public, not private corporations. He questioned the necessity of purchasing iPads for schools, arguing that digitalization efforts should avoid relying on Chinese hardware and US software.