The "EVIDENTT" feasibility study deals with the question of how legal violations on online platforms, including hate speech or unfair competition, can be documented reliably and with legal certainty. In digital spaces, content that violates the law, especially consumer protection law, often disappears quickly or is altered, making it difficult for those affected and protection associations as well as the judiciary to prove these violations and enforce the law accordingly. This development is reinforced by new technological possibilities, especially artificial intelligence (e.g. deep fakes). The previously common means of securing evidence in the form of screenshots is not sufficient, as these can easily be manipulated or deleted.

The aim of the study is to find out whether distributed technologies such as distributed ledger technology (DLT), a technology that underlies blockchains, for example, can contribute to the evidence-proof documentation of breaches. In cooperation between the Institute (vunk), the IoS³ Institute (both Pforzheim University) and the Digital Privacy Research Group (AIFB Institute, KIT), research is being conducted into whether DLT and comparable technologies can remedy the existing weaknesses in the preservation of evidence. This is an interdisciplinary study in which not only technical aspects, but above all legal and economic issues are being analyzed.

In order to ensure that our approach is legally compliant, we are taking particular account of the recent comprehensive regulatory activities of the European Union - including on accountability on online platforms - as well as the sensitive data protection and AI law in terms of legality "by design" when using DLT.

The project builds on previous research work carried out by the project partners. The aim of the project is to prepare a feasibility study and make specific recommendations for the use of appropriate technologies as a legally compliant and court-proof recording and documentation medium.

Project leader:

Prof. Dr. Steffen Kroschwald, Institute for Consumer Research and Sustainable Consumption (vunk), Pforzheim University

Research institutions:

Institute for Consumer Research and Sustainable Consumption (vunk), Pforzheim University, Prof. Dr. Steffen Kroschwald,

IoS³ - Institute for Smart Systems and Services, Pforzheim University, Prof. Dr. Thomas Schuster

Institute AIFB of the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT), Digital Privacy research group, 
Dr.-Ing.

Duration

12/2024 - 08/2025

We provide information on the progress of the project in the News section.

Funded by

the Baden-Württemberg Foundation