dotmagazine is the online international magazine covering Internet industry topics. It features exciting articles from members & partners and covers the entire spectrum of the Internet industry. In the current issue, dotmagazine highlights a collective endeavour to fortify digital interactions and safeguard online spaces.

In 2014, the global multistakeholder meeting NETmundial took place in response to global concerns about Internet governance, triggered by revelations about widespread Internet surveillance. The conference, convened by multiple stakeholders, set out to establish a comprehensive set of Internet governance principles promoting transparency, inclusivity, and accountability in digital policy processes.

We spoke to Prof. Dr Verena Nitsch about what companies need to consider when introducing AI tools. She teaches and conducts research at the Institute of Ergonomics at RWTH Aachen University and heads the Ergonomic Competence Center AKzentE4.0.

The use of artificial intelligence is still in its infancy at many German companies, as a representative survey of 543 corporate decision-makers conducted by YouGov2 on behalf of eco – Association of the Internet Industry shows. One trend is clear: the fewer employees a company has, the less artificial intelligence is used.

The Association of the Internet Industry criticises the current proposal for the CSAM Regulation. This envisages that communication services can be obliged to standardly search users’ personal images and videos upon request.

Data centers are facing a variety of challenges, such as a shortage of skilled workers, energy efficiency and ESG requirements. In this interview, Marc Fröse, Group Commercial Director at Portus Data Centers, explains how Portus Data Centers supports the digital sovereignty and security of its customers.

What significance does artificial intelligence have for the competitiveness of Germany as a digital centre? How must the regulatory framework be designed so as not to slow down innovation, but to focus on opportunities

An agreement has been met on the German Online Access Act (OZG) 2.0 to enhance digital public administration, including renaming the "Bund-ID" to "Deutschland-ID". The eco Association urges for enforceable deadlines to ensure the digitalisation of nearly 600 administrative services by 2028.

When the kick-off of this year’s European Football Championship (EC) sounds tomorrow (Friday), Internet usage will also increase significantly. A total of 61 per cent of Germans are planning to watch this year’s European Championship.

The Belgian EU Council Presidency is pushing hard for a last-minute compromise on the CSAM Regulation. In recent weeks, Belgium has repeatedly formulated compromise proposals in order to gain a majority among the EU Member States, just before the end of the Presidency. However, the latest proposal is once again strongly criticised by eco, given that it poses a clear threat to end-to-end encryption and is incompatible with EU law.

On 4 June, eco – Association of the Internet Industry hosted a a NETmundial+10 recap webinar to summarise and discuss selected topics from the Global Stakeholder Meeting in São Paulo in April 2024.  The recording is now available in the members+ area for eco members.

The day after the EU elections, it is clear that a shift to the right is emerging in Europe. eco – Association of the Internet Industry now appeals to the democratic responsibility of all political parties to drive forward the digital transformation in Europe.

The sounds of files, cutters and hammers once echoed around the Old Locksmith in Offenbach am Main. In early June 2024, however, the Data Centre Expert Summit 2024 was all about data centres as tools for our digital future – with the support of our sponsors ABB, EkkoSense AI, GOLDBECK, Robert C. Spies, Huawei and Global Switch.

Pioneering companies in Germany are developing and implementing innovative solutions based on artificial intelligence in close collaboration with technology groups. However, the use of artificial intelligence is still in its infancy among German companies, as highlighted by a representative survey of 543 corporate decision-makers conducted by YouGov2 on behalf of eco – Association of the Internet Industry shows.

The European elections will take place on Sunday, 9 June 2024. Against this backdrop, eco – Association of the Internet Industry has analysed the election manifestos of the CDU/CSU, SPD, Alliance 90/The Greens, and FDP regarding the parties’ digital policy priorities and plans.

eco survey reveals: One-third of the surveyed IT decision-makers have not yet taken any measures to fulfil the increased security requirements of NIS2.

In the coming years, corporate sustainability reporting obligations will increasingly be extended to small and medium-sized data centres. Péter Müllner from GLOBAL SWITCH FM GMBH will explain what this already means for the data centre industry at the Data Center Expert Summit on 4 June in Offenbach am Main.

On the occasion of the upcoming EU elections on 9 June 2024, the eco Association has published the agenda for the Digital Policy for Europe 2024-2029. In a total of eight fields of action, the association formulates the industry’s key demands for European digital policy in the coming legislative term.

Only by working together can we shape a green digitalisation and future – that was the tenor of this year’s DIGISUSTAIN at KAP Europa. On 29 April, eco hosted the “Digital and Sustainable Transformation” stage and welcomed numerous players from business and politics who are driving forward sustainable digital transformation.

The “We give data a home! The data centre industry in Germany” Alliance Talk on Wednesday, 15 May 2024, at BASECAMP Berlin brought together representatives from the Internet industry, users and politicians to discuss both the importance of and the necessary framework conditions for data centres in Germany.

The German Federal Cabinet approved the draft bill to amend the German Energy Efficiency Act (EnEfG) on 22 May 2024. The Alliance for the Strengthening of Digital Infrastructures in Germany is in favour of using the opportunity to implement measures for a more realistic implementation of the requirements and international comparability in addition to the formal adjustments to align the EnEfG with the reporting obligations of the European Energy Efficiency Directive (EED).

IT services from the cloud are adopting increasingly sophisticated security mechanisms, says Jörn Stuphorn, Head of Security Management at IONOS. In this interview, he talks about secure cloud services for SMEs.

Germans pay attention to security features when choosing cloud storage: 27.2 per cent consider encrypted transmission and encrypted storage of data in the cloud to be important. Another important argument in favour of a provider is whether they offer a lot of free storage space.

Increasing trust in emails and preventing phishing and spam with the help of DMARC - Lars Sandbergen, DMARC Advisor B. V. describes how this can be achieved in the eco member interview. Lars, could you please give us a brief introduction to your company? By helping organisations implement DMARC via our platform, we...

The use of rescue drones, telemedicine, 5G and artificial intelligence: digital services and technology are optimising the rescue services. We spoke to Joachim Schade, ifak – Institut für Automation und Kommunikation e. V., about how rescue mobility will benefit from the use of 5G.

How does artificial intelligence (AI) improve energy efficiency in data centres and also support the upcoming ESG reporting? Matthew Farnell, Global Sales and Marketing Director at EkkoSense, will talk about this at the Data Center Expert Summit on 4 June. His German colleague Artur Faust, Sales Manager DACH, answers our questions in this interview.

Explore strategies for creating secure, collaborative digital environments that prioritize trust – the cornerstone of all human connections – in the May issue of dotmagazine.

Today, the EU Member States are set to finalise the AI Act. With this law, the European Union has become the first international entity to create a comprehensive set of rules for the regulation of AI. Its key to success entails harmonised interpretation and implementation.

The fundamental rights enshrined in the German Basic Law also apply in virtual space – in spite of the fact that the Internet did not yet exist when the Basic Law was proclaimed in 1949. However, many people feel that their civil rights are jeopardised in the virtual space. eco Association calls for a comprehensive repeal of data retention and highlights that there must be no restrictions on the encryption of electronic communication or stored data in the future.

AI is THE technology trend of 2024 – that’s the consensus among IT decision-makers in Germany. Earlier this year, a representative survey commissioned by eco – Association of the Internet Industry revealed that almost three-quarters of respondents (73.6 per cent) see AI as the most important driver of digital innovation. It is clear that AI, quantum computing and other digital technological innovations will fundamentally change our world in all areas over the next decade.