Johannes Wesemann of AllRise uses strategic litigation to hold those in power legally accountable for deliberate harm. He starts with AllRise's first case, The Planet vs. Bolsonaro: a criminal complaint to the International Criminal Court in The Hague arguing that large-scale environmental destruction is to be regarded as crime against humanity. 

The case sparked a global campaign, drew petitions with more than one million signatures, and contributed in paving the way for the ICC's own policy on environmental crimes. He then turns to a new strategy: treating social media platform algorithms as defective products. This moves the debate away from freedom of expression and censorship and towards product liability. Coordinated filings in several EU countries, including Austria, Germany and the Netherlands, turn legal action into a shared media moment, while evidence of harm to young people makes an abstract legal argument concrete for parents and the wider public. A coalition of experts, NGOs, and law firms gives the campaign a human face beyond the courtroom. 

From the first test cases planned for early 2027, through a possible ruling of the European Court of Justice, to an eventual EU-wide collective action, the session explores how a series of legal milestones can keep public attention and political pressure alive over years.