The Alliance for the Strengthening of Digital Infrastructures in Germany regards Hesse’s data centre strategy as a significant boost for the region’s digital sector. It highlights the strategic expansion and a multi-faceted approach as particular strengths. At the same time, the industry believes there is still a need for clarification regarding energy infrastructure, grid connectivity and the specific role of local authorities.

dotmagazine is an international online magazine covering Internet industry topics, featuring articles from members and partners. This particular edition explores how Europe’s data centres and digital infrastructure are transforming into resilient, adaptive ecosystems, addressing energy constraints, security challenges, and the growing need for sovereignty in an increasingly interconnected digital landscape.

eco warns of a paradigm shift towards active network manipulation and calls for clear constitutional safeguards.

The European Parliament paves the way for less bureaucracy in AI – eco now calls for consistent implementation, greater legal certainty and innovation-friendly regulation.

The Alliance for the Strengthening of Digital Infrastructures in Germany, operating under the umbrella of eco – Association of the Internet Industry, welcomes key elements of the German federal government’s National Data Centre Strategy, which is set to be adopted by the cabinet today. In particular, the target of doubling data centre capacity by 2030 and quadrupling AI capacity sends an important signal for competitiveness and digital sovereignty from the industry’s perspective.

With the expiry of the temporary exemption for voluntary chat control set to expire on 3 April 2026, the European Union faces a legal gap in the voluntary detection of child sexual abuse material (CSAM) online. Following the failure of the EU Council and the European Parliament to agree on an extension of the exemption, pressure is mounting to find a swift and long-term solution for voluntary proactive measures by service providers within the framework of the trilogue negotiations on the CSAM Regulation.

As AI workloads and high-density computing loads change how data centers operate, transparency and control over infrastructure are becoming increasingly important. In the interview, James Stuart from Nlyte Software explains how modern DCIM platforms are evolving into real-time intelligence layers.

In this conversation, Patrick Donaldson, Director, RSP Sales at Identity Digital, explains why Identity Digital is a strong backend Registry Services Provider (RSP) for new top-level domain (gTLD) applicants, highlighting its infrastructure, experience, security, and distribution network.

Ahead of the European Parliament’s vote on the report on artificial intelligence and copyright, eco points out that the existing European legal framework already provides a balanced basis for AI development and the protection of rights holders.

The Digital Omnibus offers an important opportunity to reduce the growing complexity of European digital regulation.

With a kick-off meeting at TU Dresden, the research project “ALL#HANDS – Robust Data Ecosystem for a Cooperative Internet Situation and Information Centre” has officially been launched. Eight partners from industry and academia will combine their expertise over the next three years to sustainably strengthen digital resilience in Germany.

The draft bill for an Act to Strengthen Cybersecurity intervenes deeply in the architecture and control logic of digital infrastructures and fundamentally shifts the understanding of cybersecurity. eco – Association of the Internet Industry strongly criticises this paradigm shift.

In the run-up to the event "Future-Proof Data Centres in the Age of AI – New Challenges for Infrastructure, the Power Grid and Existing Facilities", Michael Würth, Global Head of Datacenter Services GRF at SAP, explains how data centres must position themselves technologically and energetically in order to operate AI workloads efficiently, resiliently and sustainably.

Increasing power densities, AI applications and modular expansion concepts are fundamentally changing the requirements for data centres. Matthias Nitschke, Director of Data Center Solutions at Corning, talks to eco about the role fibre architectures play in scalability and future-proofing, how planning and collaboration are changing, and what aspects decision-makers should consider today in order to create sustainable data center infrastructures for the long term.

dotmagazine is an international online magazine covering Internet industry topics, featuring articles from members and partners. From silicon-level security to organisational culture, this edition explores what it takes to operationalise digital trust in 2026.

The debate on a legal minimum age for social media continues to gain momentum. Initiatives from the German SPD and CDU/CSU parties envisage mandatory age verification and, in some cases, far-reaching restrictions. eco Association calls for a differentiated, European-coordinated solution and warns against blanket bans.

AI applications, industrial real-time processes and data-intensive services are fundamentally transforming the requirements for digital infrastructures. Fibre optics remain the foundation; however, proximity to computing power is becoming increasingly decisive. In an interview, Lutz Lohse, Managing Director of enviaTEL, explains why edge data centres in particular are becoming a strategic building block: they enable local data processing, reduce latency and create economic added value for industry and municipalities.

As the domain name market prepares for ICANN’s 2026 gTLD round, alternative naming models are gaining attention. In this eco interview, Joe Alagna explains how it.com has established itself with more than 150,000 registrants worldwide and how the company positions itself both as a namespace operator and as a Registry Services Provider for the next phase of domain expansion.

Cyber attacks are considered the greatest security risk by the German population. This is shown by the current Munich Security Index 2026, which was published ahead of the Munich Security Conference. However, a survey of IT decision-makers in Germany commissioned by eco Association and conducted by the polling institute Civey paints a more nuanced picture.

With the rapid growth of data-intensive applications, the demands on high-performance network infrastructures are also increasing. Wolfram Rinner, Managing Director of GasLINE, provides insights into current trends, innovation potential and the long-term outlook for modern fibre-optic networks. He will be a panellist at the German “eco Datacenter Plaza at fiberdays 26.”

This EU summit must send a clear signal of unity and political will, especially to the business community. Europe’s competitiveness is under pressure. The productivity gap with other world regions has widened, and non-European players dominate the global market for investments in artificial intelligence.

Ahead of tomorrow’s cabinet discussion on the AI Implementation Act, eco – Association of the Internet Industry welcomes the 1:1 implementation of the EU requirements, but warns of practical enforcement problems and unclear responsibilities.

A new white paper from eco shows how companies can use AI safely and responsibly. A five-step plan supports decision-makers in implementing AI applications, addresses new threats such as deepfakes and AI-supported phishing, and classifies best practices and relevant standards such as ISO/IEC 42001.

In an eco interview, Thimo Groneberg, Chief Commercial Officer at Polarise, shares insights into the current challenges of operating and scaling AI computing power, highlights the differences between new and existing-site approaches, and outlines which questions companies should ask themselves before putting AI into productive use.

Safer Internet Day has met with a great response throughout Germany: more than 1,000 schools, associations, libraries, companies and initiatives are getting involved with their own campaigns and events. eco is also participating in the campaign day.

The draft law presented by the German federal government to introduce a three-month IP address storage is facing criticism from the Internet industry. eco warns of violations of European Court of Justice case law, a reduction in judicial control and considerable financial burdens for the sector.

Gcore operates its own global IT infrastructure across six continents and is the newest member of the Alliance for the Strengthening of Digital Infrastructures in Germany, founded under the umbrella of eco. In this interview, Elena Simon, Managing Director of Gcore DACH, addresses the key challenges and significant advantages of Germany as a digital location.

Matthias Hahn (Nokia) speaks in an eco interview about current challenges for data centre and telecommunications networks, technological developments beyond pure bandwidth, and the importance of quantum-secure encryption for long-term network planning. He will discuss these topics at the eco Datacenter Plaza during fiberdays 26.

With the adoption of the KRITIS Umbrella Act by the German Bundestag, a uniform nationwide framework for the protection of critical infrastructures in Germany is being created for the first time. What now matters is a practicable, real-world implementation.

dotmagazine is an international online magazine covering Internet industry topics, featuring articles from members and partners. This particular edition highlights how Europe can build digital trust, strengthen sovereignty, and align policy, technology, and leadership for a secure digital future.