At the start of the World Economic Forum (WEF) 2026 in Davos, eco is calling for a commitment to greater and more offensive digitalisation in Europe. In light of geopolitical tensions and potential threats to industrial and technological supply chains, this is crucial for Europe’s competitiveness and ability to act.

As dotmagazine plans for 2026, the editorial team has put together this year’s calendar to tackle the Internet industry’s most pressing topics. We sat down with the team to hear about the approach behind this year’s seven issues and what they reveal about the digital landscape ahead.

“We know that, as things stand today, demand for data centres in Germany alone will exceed planned capacities by about three times by 2030. That is why every building block is important in supporting the digital transformation in Germany.”

The joint white paper “Email Authentication – The protective shield for your domain and door opener to your inbox” by eco and the DDV helps companies make their email communication future-proof.

In this conversation, Ronald Schwärzler CEO of domainworx Service & Management GmbH shares how domainworx guides customers through the ICANN application process and the ongoing operation of Top-Level Domains in cooperation with their RSP partner RyCE.

How much control do we really have over our digital identities? At a Berlin panel hosted by ICANN and eco, experts showed why domain ownership and TLDs are becoming a cornerstone of email security, digital sovereignty and trust in an increasingly complex geopolitical landscape.

The recent power outage in Berlin once again highlights how vulnerable our critical infrastructures are. The eco Association is therefore calling for the swift adoption of the Critical Infrastructures (KRITIS) Umbrella Act in order to finally create a cross-sector, practical legal framework for the physical protection of critical infrastructures.

Business representatives on the DSC Advisory Board, Susanne Dehmel (bitkom), Dirk Freytag (BVDW) and Alexander Rabe (eco), have issued a joint statement on the sanctions imposed by the US administration: “The US administration’s actions raise serious questions about its dealings with European institutions and applicable EU law. The Digital Services Act is applicable European law.

In response to German Federal Minister of Justice Stefanie Hubig’s plans to reintroduce indiscriminate data retention, eco is calling for urgent amendments to the draft bill. Indiscriminate and blanket data retention is incompatible with the case law of the European Court of Justice.

At ICANN84 in Dublin, Thomas Rickert, Director Names & Numbers at eco – Association of the Internet Industry, spoke with Stefan Pattberg of DENIC Services about how service providers are preparing for the next round of new gTLDs, expected to launch in 2026.

In this interview, eco’s Managing Director Alexander Rabe talks about the importance of data centres for digital transformation and eco’s strategic role in shaping the political and technological aspects of digital change. The focus is particularly on fiberdays 26, where eco is designing the new German “Datacenter Plaza” for the first time.

dotmagazine is an international online magazine covering Internet industry topics, featuring articles from members and partners. From energy grids to ethics, the December issue explores how Europe balances AI innovation with real-world challenges.

The current draft law to modernise the German Federal Police Act significantly expands the Federal Police’s surveillance powers. In view of the first reading on Thursday, eco Association is now warning of the risks to IT security and digital communication.

AI is reshaping the cybersecurity landscape and how companies are fortifying their defenses against increasingly sophisticated threats. Read the latest insights from the eco IT Security Survey 2025 and find out how your expertise can shape the future of digital resilience in the upcoming 2026 survey.

According to Rabe, this trend is positive. However, eco’s Managing Director would have liked to see a little more consistency in the adjustments in some areas. This applies, for example, to the Design PUE. It is also regrettable that the flat-rate ERF values are still included in the law.

The new eco Industry Pulse survey shows that, despite a shortage of skilled workers, IT companies are so far making little use of AI to bridge staffing shortages. At the same time, around 70 per cent of IT decision-makers in Germany believe that by 2030, AI will take over a large proportion of the tasks currently performed by IT departments. These and other findings come from a representative Civey survey conducted on behalf of eco among 500 industry specialists and managers.

At Christmas, many children will receive their first smartphone – and with it, usually access to social networks. In light of the ongoing discussion about age limits for social media platforms, Alexandra Koch-Skiba, Head of the eco Complaints Office, gives five practical tips on how parents can effectively support their children when they start using social media.

Against the backdrop of the current debate on age limits for social media platforms, eco has commissioned a new survey: According to the survey, 82 per cent of Germans are in favour of an age limit for social media, but more than half of those surveyed doubt the practical feasibility of such a regulation. That’s why eco is calling for practicable, data protection-compliant and uniform solutions across Europe.

To mark Cookie Day on 4 December, eco commissioned a representative YouGov survey on cookie banners. The results clearly show that the majority of Germans find the current data protection notices annoying. The EU’s Digital Omnibus could be an opportunity to make adjustments.

All in for AI Gigafactories? These and other questions regarding the future of Germany as a data centre location were discussed at the AllianceTalk by the panelists Henri Schmidt, MP, Johannes Schätzl, MP, Michael Schultz (Federal Ministry for Digital Transformation and Government Modernisation), and Günter Eggers (NTT).

Data centres are the foundation of digital value creation in Frankfurt and the entire Rhine-Main region. The new study by IW and Detecon provides clear figures and shows that, in contrast to the economy as a whole, the industry is recording record growth. The city and the entire Rhine-Main region also benefit significantly from this.

With the Germany Stack, the German Federal Ministry for Digital Transformation and Government Modernisation is creating the foundation for a central platform architecture. However, the Association of the Internet Industry sees a need for improvement: so far, all criteria lack clear definitions and a common frame of reference. For this reason, eco sets out fundamental requirements for a successful Germany Stack.

At ICANN84 in Dublin, Thomas Rickert, Director Names & Numbers at eco – Association of the Internet Industry, sat down with Emilie Turbat of AFNIC to explore how the registry is preparing for the next round of new gTLDs, scheduled for 2026.

eco Association assesses the budget of the BMDS (German Federal Ministry for Digital Transformation and Government Modernisation) for 2026, approved by the German Bundestag on Tuesday, as significantly too weak to effectively advance Germany’s digital transformation.

In the course of the upcoming trilogue negotiations on the European CSAM Regulation, eco warns against the introduction of mandatory chat control. This is because suspicionless searches of private communications without cause is contrary to fundamental rights, is technically misguided and endangers everyone’s security. Alexandra Koch-Skiba, Head of the eco Complaints Office, reaffirms this assessment in a current statement.

At ICANN84 in Dublin, Thomas Rickert, Director Names & Numbers at eco – Association of the Internet Industry, spoke with Daniel Greenberg of Lexsynergy about how the industry is getting ready for the next round of new gTLDs, expected to roll out in 2026.

The ICANN84 Readout, hosted by eco Association and ICANN, brought together global stakeholders to review highlights from the 27th ICANN Annual General Meeting.

The digitalisation of public authorities in Germany remains a challenge. A representative survey commissioned by eco shows that the majority of citizens rate the current situation negatively. At the same time, there is growing openness towards government-provided digital identity solutions – provided they are secure, transparent and easy to use.

With its new “Declaration for European Digital Sovereignty,” the EU makes it clear that digital sovereignty means the ability to act, not isolation. eco welcomes the declaration by the EU Member States on the occasion of the European Summit on Digital Sovereignty in Berlin and has also defined four key dimensions for digital sovereignty.

In this interview, Dr. Bernd Schröder from brown-iposs explains how software, automation and O-RAN are driving digitalisation in mobile communications.