The last week of sessions of the 20th German Bundestag is over, the election is in 10 days – and many digital policy projects remain unfinished. Due to the premature end of the coalition, central legislative initiatives such as the NIS2 Implementation Act, the Quick Freeze Act and the right to encryption could no longer be adopted. The new German federal government must address these issues as quickly as possible in order to create legal certainty for companies and to strengthen digital security.
The implementation of European requirements is also stagnating. There is a lack of clarity, particularly in the area of AI regulation, meaning that companies and innovators need planning security. Overall, it is clear that the structures and framework conditions for digitalisation in Germany are insufficient. Many digital policy challenges remained unresolved during this legislative period.
In order to resolutely advance the digital transformation in the coming legislative period, eco is calling for a comprehensive reorientation of digital policy. A central element here is the creation of an independent Ministry of Digitalisation (written in German) with binding control mechanisms and its own budget.
At our Netzpolitischen Parteiencheck (Internet Policy Party Check) on Tuesday evening, it also became clear that there is a great need for action in digital policy across party lines. In short rounds of questions, digital politicians addressed the central challenges of digital transformation. eco seized the opportunity to make its own clear demands on Internet policy.
Among those present were the party leaders Franziska Brantner (Alliance 90/The Greens) and Christian Lindner (FDP), who answered questions from eco’s Managing Director Alexander Rabe. There were also important insights from the industry, for example from Volker Ludwig (Digital Realty) and Guido Brinkel (Microsoft).
Despite different approaches, there was agreement that the next German federal government must deliver on the issue of digitalisation. If you missed the event, you can watch it in full here. Further impressions of the evening can be found in our Flickr gallery.
eco has published an agenda with ten key demands for a fresh start in digital policy. Now it is up to the incoming federal government to set the right course.
Enjoy reading this issue! The next issue of eco politik digital will be published as soon as the new German federal government takes office – hopefully with a clear course for digital policy. We will keep you up to date!
