Dr. Béla Waldhauser, spokesperson for the Alliance for the Strengthening of Digital Infrastructures in Germany, founded under the umbrella of eco – Association of the Internet Industry, comments on the new draft act for a German energy efficiency law that was released this Monday, 3 April 2023.

In order to increase the security of software supply chains, a wave of regulation will roll in on the German economy. In an interview, Attorney-at-law Stefan Hessel, Head of Digital Business at Reusch Rechtsanwaltsgesellschaft mbH, talks about the legal implications for SMEs.

In an eco member interview, Marc Fröse, Director Sales & Marketing at NorthC Deutschland GmbH, talks about the opportunities for sustainable resource management in data centres and the challenges facing the European digital economy in global competition.

Book accommodation and flights on the Internet or let your mobile phone guide you to your holiday destination: Almost two out of three Germans (61.9 per cent) currently use online services that make it easier for them to prepare for their holidays and while on location.

The CSA (Certified Senders Alliance) has published the 7th edition of its “Directive for Permissible Email Marketing”. Now online, it offers up-to-date knowledge and practical tips on implementing legal rules for sending commercial emails – in Germany and internationally.

In an interview, Joelle Samake, Country Coordinator Germany of Nameshield GmbH states that brand protection and IT security are growing together, and advocates for ethical digitalisation.

Today, the Complaints Office of eco published its English version of its 2022 Annual Report. With 8,904 actionable cases, the eco Complaints Office once again recorded a new peak of notified legal violations on the Internet last year

Gaia-X is taking shape. Andreas Weiss, GXFS Project Manager and Head of Digital Business Models division at eco – Association of the Internet Industry, talks in an interview on the further development of Gaia-X in line with the needs and problems of users.

What role do “ecosystem technologies” and digital identities play in authorisation and proof-of-origin chains? Carsten Stöcker from Spherity GmbH talks about this in an eco member interview.

The reuschlaw team deals in particular with questions of liability law relating to digital and physical products in Europe, reports Philipp Resch in an interview.

36.6 per cent of Germans back up their most important private data less often than once a year or never. This is according to a survey conducted on World Backup Day on 31 March, the international day of data backup.

Whether with MS-DOS, the Apple Newton or Gaia-X – for 40 years, C&S Computer and Software has been digitising the healthcare industry. In an interview, Managing Director Bruno Ristok now presents his work in the TEAM-X project. Which role the focus on the common good plays in data flows in outpatient care. And how Gaia-X provides solutions for the banality of everyday life. Read more on gxfs.eu.

An expert group of the international Internet administration ICANN ensures smooth time changeover of digital devices and applications. eco’s Managing Director Alexander Rabe sees this as a proofpoint for the functioning multi-stakeholder approach in Internet governance.

When Hannover Messe, the world’s leading industrial trade fair, opens its doors from 17-21 April 2023, the eco Association and Gaia-X Federation Services will be on site.

Digitalisation offers numerous opportunities to improve our quality of life. Sandro Malessa talks about how LWL-Sachsenkabel is committed to sustainability and energy efficiency in an interview with the eco Association.

Artificial intelligence has taken another leap forward with the ChatGPT language model from the Californian company Open AI, which was launched in November 2022. A eco/Civey survey shows that 58.7 percent of German students use chatbots like ChatGPT. Among the German population, however, chatbots still play a rather small role.

The “move to the cloud” makes for more resilient IT infrastructures. Cloud expert Patrick Schulz from Cockroach Labs talks about how digital transformation is changing the IT landscape in an interview.

In the current budget negotiations of the German federal government, the planned digital budget could also fall victim to cuts. eco Association expressly warns against cutting funds for the implementation of digitalisation plans and projects.

Meet the eco Association and the GXFS-DE project team at Cloud Expo Europe in Frankfurt on 10-11 May 2023 and experience Gaia-X live at the “Gaia-X Stage powered by eco”.

The European Council and the European Parliament are expected to start their trilogue on the Data Act on 28 March. Already on Monday this week, in Strasbourg the Parliament voted on the draft prepared by rapporteur Pilar del Castillo Vera (EPP) from the Industry Committee (ITRE) and issued its negotiating mandate. eco still sees a need for improvement in the Data Act.

The increasing prevalence of connected cars and advanced driver assistance systems makes vehicles more than just means of transport. They are computers on wheels that collect and transmit huge amounts of data. This data can include everything from location information and driving behaviour to biometric data and even personal preferences. Safe handling of them has become all the more important.

When the international cloud, hosting and internet industry meets again for Cloudfest at Europapark Rust from 21-23 March, the eco Association will be on site with Thomas Rickert, Lars Steffen, Peter Joniec and Annette Schwartze.

In 2023, the eco Association was once again part of the NRW joint stand organised by NRW.Global Business and Koelnmesse at the Mobile World Congress (MWC) in Barcelona. This year, the Head of the eco IoT Competence Group, Dr Bettina Horster, took on the position of State Representative for the first time.

In Germany, the amendment to the electricity price brake is expected to be passed in today’s cabinet meeting. eco and the Alliance for the Strengthening of Digital Infrastructures are strongly critical of the amendment introduced by the Federal Ministry of Economics.

Sony won a victory at the Leipzig Regional Court on 1 March in the much-publicised case against the Swiss Quad9 Foundation (file no. 05 O 807/22). The court ruled that the regulations of the German Telemedia Act (TMG) and the associated liability privilege do not apply, since a DNS resolver is not a service provider.

Gaia-X is widely accepted and positively perceived by companies. This is one result of the survey “Acceptance of Gaia-X” commissioned by the eco Association and GXFS. There is already a great understanding regarding the added values of Gaia-X and the associated opportunities to strengthen data sovereignty and reduce dependence on non-European providers.

Women have little interest in IT and technology: This is an opinion actually still held by almost 40 per cent (38.6 %) of Germans. A survey conducted by the research institute Civey on behalf of eco – Association of the Internet Industry, which asked for reasons why the proportion of women in IT professions is so low, came to this conclusion.

On the strength of the Climate Neutral Data Centre Pact, the international data centre industry is supporting the climate goals of the European Commission. Dr Béla Waldhauser, Spokesperson of the Alliance for the Strengthening of Digital Infrastructures in Germany, is now once again a candidate for the upcoming board election.

Under the motto “Backup to the Future”, the eco Association invites you to the Internet Security Days (ISD) at Phantasialand near Cologne on 20 and 21 September 2023.