Thomas Derksen was once a savings bank official in Cologne. He is now an Internet star in China, advertising the products of German companies there and millions follow him online. His life in China is different from that in Germany. Payments, retirement, electricity bills — all he needs there is his mobile phone to organize everyday life: “Digitalization is really a revolution. And I don't think you can choose whether you want to or not, but you have to participate.” While China and the USA are hurrying away when it comes to digitization, Germany seems to be left behind. Economically and politically. The most valuable companies in the world have long been platform companies from the USA and China. The German online fashion retailer Zalando wants to catch up and also become a platform. “Neuland” takes a look behind the otherwise closed scenes of the rapidly growing digital company and explains how Zalando uses customer data to improve its offerings. Platforms are becoming ever more powerful What does it mean for the economy when platforms become ever more powerful and data becomes more and more valuable? How can this power be controlled? In China, the state has long been experimenting with facial recognition and social scoring systems. On a business trip to China, German entrepreneurs get to feel just how real the “new territory” has long been in metropolises such as Shanghai and Hangzhou. The camera accompanies the delegation to the interior of the powerful platform company Alibaba on site. “There is unbelievable technological friendliness,” one of the entrepreneurs marvels. In China, digitization means: a bright future and “a piece of world domination.” How to shape change? One who has political responsibility for the “new territory” in Germany is the Minister of State for Digital Affairs, Dorothee Bär. How does it want to shape change? For this film, the CSU politician provides an exclusive insight into her everyday working life. Following the award-winning documentary “Unequal Land” and “Heimatland” by the WDR project docupy, “Neuland” this time around the question: Who has the power on the Internet? Power in the InternetNeuland — The Project: Even in the run-up to this documentary, a team of film and online authors on the Internet has been working on power on the Internet under docupy “Neuland”: Since October 2019, the team of authors has been publishing background information and research results in videos, which have been widely disseminated and discussed online.

To be seen at: Das Erte ,YouTube

Production: btf GmbH, WDR, ARD
A film by: Julia Friedrichs, Fabienne Hurst, Andreas Spinrath, Nora Nagel, Sara Lienemann, Nina Ostersehlte, Hannah Kloth, Kevin Brüssel, Eva Müller, Michael Schmitt
Camera: Nicolai Mehring, Sebastian Klatt
Music: Lorenz Rhode
Editing: Elisabeth Raßbach
Color grading: Fridolin Körner

Length: 60 min