Toggle navigation eco Press Releases Press Releases Press Distribution List Press DownloadsPress TextPhotographsLogosStudiesAnnual ReportsPortfolio Press © imaginima | istockphoto.com Policy & Law European Summit on Digital Sovereignty: eco Welcomes EU Declaration and Calls for Pragmatic, Innovation-Friendly Policies in the European Single Market 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. date 2025/11/20 press Policy & Law Digital Omnibus: eco Association Sees Major Opportunity for Greater Clarity in Europe’s Digital Rules The “Digital Omnibus” aims to better align key European regulations. Through this comprehensive reorganisation of digital laws, the European Commission seeks to reduce bureaucracy and to provide more guidance for both companies and public authorities. eco Association expressly welcomes this approach and sees the “Digital Omnibus” as an opportunity for more modern, clearer digital regulation. date 2025/11/18 press Datacenter Energy Crisis for Data Centres Intensifies The eco Data Centre Alliance criticises the German federal government’s failed location policy. In particular, the Federal Council’s proposal on grid connection allocation – rejected by the Economic Committee — together with yesterday’s coalition committee agreement on an industrial electricity price, are, in the association’s view, jeopardising the data centre industry in Germany. date 2025/11/14 press Policy & Law Together Against Sexual Abuse Online – What Professionals Need to Know The German hotlines of eco, FSM and jugendschutz.net are hosting a webinar on 18 November for educational professionals, multipliers and all other interested parties on the occasion of the “European Day for the Protection of Children against Sexual Exploitation and Sexual Abuse”. The webinar provides practical knowledge and guidance. date 2025/11/13 press Policy & Law eco – Association of the Internet Industry on NIS-2: Late Start, Now Critical – Germany Must Create Trust and Clarity A late start, but on the home stretch: Germany has managed the long run-up and will finally adapt the important NIS-2 implementation. The second stage of the EU infringement procedure hung over Berlin like a sword of Damocles for a long time; but now there is finally movement in the legislative backlog on cybersecurity. date 2025/11/12 press Policy & Law Mid-Year Review of the German Federal Government: Around Two-Thirds of Citizens Dissatisfied with Digital Policy Half a year after the German federal government took office, citizens are drawing a sobering interim assessment: a recent YouGov survey commissioned by the eco Association shows that around two-thirds of the population are dissatisfied with the government’s digital policy. date 2025/11/05 press Policy & Law Data Retention: eco Warns Against Regression – Legal Certainty, Proportionality and Data Protection Must Remain Guiding Principles The German federal government plans to store IP addresses for up to three months. From eco's point of view, this would be a step backwards in digital policy: renewed blanket data retention jeopardises fundamental rights, creates economic burdens and undermines trust in digital services. Instead, the association is calling for a legally compliant, proportionate and technically feasible solution that is aligned with the ECJ requirements. date 2025/10/29 press Cloud Computing Project DIRECTIONS: SMART Strengthens Data Protection in Digital Learning The project DIRECTIONS, funded by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF), strengthens transparency and trust in digital learning. SMART Technologies has made a self-commitment to data protection for its Lumio learning system and is now listed in the Trusted Cloud Register. date 2025/10/27 press Policy & Law eco Managing Director Rabe Re-nominated as DSC Advisory Board Member by the German Bundestag Today, eco Managing Director Alexander Rabe was once again nominated by a majority vote of the German Bundestag as a member of the Advisory Board of the Digital Services Coordinator (DSC) at the Federal Network Agency. date 2025/10/16 press Policy & Law eco – Association of the Internet Industry Warns Against Chat Control: No Weakening of Secure Encryption The draft proposal by the Danish Council Presidency for the planned chat control carries significant risks for citizens, companies and critical infrastructure. Additionally, the latest Annual Report from the eco Complaints Office, which has been working with law enforcement agencies and international partners for over 25 years to combat illegal online content, underscores the high effectiveness of existing structures. eco is therefore calling on the German federal government and EU Member States to reject this proposal on 14 October. date 2025/10/07 press Policy & Law eco on the Launch of the EU’s “AI Apply” Strategy: Funding Must be Considered Comprehensively Tomorrow, the European Commission will present its new “AI Apply” strategy, aiming to strengthen Europe as an AI hub and promote innovation. The eco Association welcomes this step, but calls for holistic implementation across all sectors. date 2025/10/06 press Security Strengthening the Pan-Atlantic Digital Future at the Heart of Atlantic Convergence 2025 Ivo Ivanov, the CEO from DE-CIX, explains how the Atlantic Convergence 2025 in Lisbon – taking place from 28 to 30 October – will address urgent security, trust and compliance challenges facing the pan-Atlantic digital ecosystem. date 2025/10/01 press Policy & Law Before Cabinet Review: eco – Association of the Internet Industry Urges Streamlined Supervision and Fair Implementation of the Data Act The German federal government plans to soon discuss the implementation law for the Data Act in the cabinet. eco welcomes this step, but warns that the German federal government has let valuable time to slip away during the long transition period. Now, swift action must be taken to avoid placing unnecessary obstacles in the path of German companies. date 2025/10/01 press Policy & Law eco Study: Internet Industry Defies Recession – Total Revenues of 389 Billion Euro Expected by 2030 The German Internet industry continues to grow rapidly – the latest study by Arthur D. Little on behalf of the eco Association forecasts annual growth of around ten per cent despite the recession. According to the study, total revenues will rise from the current €245 billion to €389 billion by 2030. However, eco warns of structural deficits that could jeopardise this growth trajectory. date 2025/09/30 press Digital Business Models eco and IndustryFusion Cooperate: Sovereign Data Spaces for Industry eco and the IndustryFusion Foundation have agreed on a far-reaching cooperation to promote the expansion of digital infrastructures and sovereign data spaces for industrial applications in Europe. date 2025/09/15 press Digital Business Models FACIS Launches First Call for Tenders for Digital Contracting Service (DCS) FACIS is launching the first call for tenders as part of the European funding programme, IPCEI-CIS/8ra. The starting point is the Digital Contracting Service (DCS), which enables secure and efficient handling of contract processes in federated cloud and edge ecosystems. date 2025/09/12 press Policy & Law Data Act Comes into Force – Association of the Internet Industry Warns: Without Rapid Implementation, German Companies Risk Competitive Disadvantage On 12 September, the European Data Act comes into force – providing new momentum for Europe’s data economy. While the EU is already moving forward, Germany is in danger of falling behind, which could further exacerbate existing uncertainties in the Internet industry. date 2025/09/11 press KRITIS eco On The German Cabinet Approval of KRITIS Act: Act Swiftly, Avoid Duplication Today, the German Federal Cabinet approved the draft bill for the German KRITIS Umbrella Act (KRITIS DG), paving the way for further parliamentary proceedings. ‘The KRITIS Umbrella Act is an important step towards greater resilience in Germany. However, it will only be effective if responsibilities are clearly defined and unnecessary duplication of work is avoided," Ulrich Plate comments. date 2025/09/11 press Policy & Law “Germany is still in the starting blocks in the AI race” – eco – Association of the Internet Industry Calls for a Turbo Boost for Germany as an AI Location In the context of the stakeholder consultation in the publication of the draft bill for the national implementation of the AI Act, the eco – Association of the Internet Industry warns against a lack of coordination between the responsible authorities and calls for practical implementation. To this end, eco identifies five key levers for Germany as an AI location. date 2025/09/09 press Policy & Law Planned Amendment to the German Telecommunications Act: eco Welcomes the BMDS' Key Points On 31 August 2025, the consultation period for the extension of the amendment to the German Telecommunications Act ended, and with it the opportunity to officially comment on the key points. eco – Association of the Internet Industry sees the key points of the German Federal Ministry for Digital Affairs (BMDS) as important impetus for the expansion of fibre optics and mobile communications in Germany. date 2025/09/02 press Policy & Law New Tasks for the Digital Services Coordinator – Bottlenecks Threaten Without Adequate Resources Regarding the draft law on transparency and targeting of political advertising from the Federal Ministry for Digital and Public Administration, eco warns of massive understaffing of the responsible authorities. In the future, the German Federal Network Agency (BNetzA) is to function as the coordinating body for digital services – however, this does not even achieve half of the originally calculated staffing requirements. date 2025/09/01 press eco eco – Association of the Internet Industry Expands Its Board Member: Silke Kanes Takes On New Portfolio for SaaS as Well as Diversity and Corporate Culture At today’s eco General Assembly, Silke Kanes was elected as a new member of the Board. With her appointment, the Association of the Internet Industry is expanding its Executive Board with a portfolio for Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) as well as diversity and corporate culture, which Kanes will now take on. date 2025/08/29 press Policy & Law Federal Data Centre Strategy: eco Association Presents 5-Point Plan for a Future-Proof Data Centre Location Data centres are a key growth driver for Germany as a business location. To enable Germany to realise the full potential of artificial intelligence and digital innovations, eco has formulated five key requirements for a data centre strategy of the German federal government. date 2025/08/25 press Policy & Law eco Criticises Plans for IP Address Storage: A Step Back into Surveillance? eco Association warns against recent plans presented for three-month IP storage obligation. eco Chair Oliver Süme sees this as a clear violation of European law, massive infringements of fundamental rights, and offering no real added value for investigations. Rather than billions of data mountains without added value, the association calls for rule-of-law alternatives such as the Quick Freeze model. date 2025/08/25 press Policy & Law Digital Policy Between Self-Discovery and Legacy Issues: eco Association Takes Stock of the German Federal Government’s First 100 Days The eco Association takes stock of digital policy after 100 days of the new German federal government. Although the Federal Ministry for Digital Affairs has fulfilled a long-standing demand of the industry, many core digital projects have not yet crossed the starting line. eco sees urgent need for action, particularly in the areas of AI, data centres, administrative digitisation and data protection. eco also critically evaluates the plans for data retention in the new security package. date 2025/08/14 press Domains YouGov Survey by eco Association: More Than Half of Germans Find Local Domain Endings Useful In addition to well-known Internet endings such as “.de” and “.com”, there is now a wide range of abbreviations that web addresses can end with – and rightly so, as a recent YouGov survey commissioned by eco shows. More than half of Germans consider them to be useful. Thomas Rickert, Director Names & Numbers at eco, contextualises the results. date 2025/08/11 press Policy & Law Ruling on State Trojans: eco Welcomes Clarification by the German Federal Constitutional Court The German Federal Constitutional Court has declared key regulations concerning Lawful Interception at the Source (Quellen-TKÜ) and online state searches to be partially unconstitutional. eco Board Member Klaus Landefeld welcomes the decision but warns of unresolved risks for IT security. date 2025/08/11 press Policy & Law eco – Association After One Year of the AI Act: There Is A Lack of Legally Secure Framework Conditions And Political Will to Make AI "Made in Europe" A Success Story One year ago, on 1 August 2024, the European AI Act came into force – a historic milestone for the global regulation of artificial intelligence. Europe has thus set comprehensive standards. date 2025/07/31 press Policy & Law eco Association on the High-Tech Agenda eco – Association of the Internet Industry regards the High-Tech Agenda of the Federal Ministry of Education, Research, Technology and Space as an important step towards enabling digital innovations “made in Germany”. With this initiative, the German federal government is sending a strong signal for the country’s future viability and demonstrating its recognition of the importance of digital innovation. The Association particularly welcomes the fact that Artificial Intelligence is identified as the number one key technology in the agenda. date 2025/07/30 press KRITIS NIS 2 Cabinet Decision Is Here: Questions Remain The cabinet decision on the implementation of the NIS 2 Directive was announced today. This puts cybersecurity back on the political agenda – with tangible implications for companies in critical sectors. eco KRITIS expert Ulrich Plate explains the questions that remain unanswered in his latest assessment. date 2025/07/30 press
© imaginima | istockphoto.com Policy & Law European Summit on Digital Sovereignty: eco Welcomes EU Declaration and Calls for Pragmatic, Innovation-Friendly Policies in the European Single Market 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. date 2025/11/20 press
Policy & Law Digital Omnibus: eco Association Sees Major Opportunity for Greater Clarity in Europe’s Digital Rules The “Digital Omnibus” aims to better align key European regulations. Through this comprehensive reorganisation of digital laws, the European Commission seeks to reduce bureaucracy and to provide more guidance for both companies and public authorities. eco Association expressly welcomes this approach and sees the “Digital Omnibus” as an opportunity for more modern, clearer digital regulation. date 2025/11/18 press
Datacenter Energy Crisis for Data Centres Intensifies The eco Data Centre Alliance criticises the German federal government’s failed location policy. In particular, the Federal Council’s proposal on grid connection allocation – rejected by the Economic Committee — together with yesterday’s coalition committee agreement on an industrial electricity price, are, in the association’s view, jeopardising the data centre industry in Germany. date 2025/11/14 press
Policy & Law Together Against Sexual Abuse Online – What Professionals Need to Know The German hotlines of eco, FSM and jugendschutz.net are hosting a webinar on 18 November for educational professionals, multipliers and all other interested parties on the occasion of the “European Day for the Protection of Children against Sexual Exploitation and Sexual Abuse”. The webinar provides practical knowledge and guidance. date 2025/11/13 press
Policy & Law eco – Association of the Internet Industry on NIS-2: Late Start, Now Critical – Germany Must Create Trust and Clarity A late start, but on the home stretch: Germany has managed the long run-up and will finally adapt the important NIS-2 implementation. The second stage of the EU infringement procedure hung over Berlin like a sword of Damocles for a long time; but now there is finally movement in the legislative backlog on cybersecurity. date 2025/11/12 press
Policy & Law Mid-Year Review of the German Federal Government: Around Two-Thirds of Citizens Dissatisfied with Digital Policy Half a year after the German federal government took office, citizens are drawing a sobering interim assessment: a recent YouGov survey commissioned by the eco Association shows that around two-thirds of the population are dissatisfied with the government’s digital policy. date 2025/11/05 press
Policy & Law Data Retention: eco Warns Against Regression – Legal Certainty, Proportionality and Data Protection Must Remain Guiding Principles The German federal government plans to store IP addresses for up to three months. From eco's point of view, this would be a step backwards in digital policy: renewed blanket data retention jeopardises fundamental rights, creates economic burdens and undermines trust in digital services. Instead, the association is calling for a legally compliant, proportionate and technically feasible solution that is aligned with the ECJ requirements. date 2025/10/29 press
Cloud Computing Project DIRECTIONS: SMART Strengthens Data Protection in Digital Learning The project DIRECTIONS, funded by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF), strengthens transparency and trust in digital learning. SMART Technologies has made a self-commitment to data protection for its Lumio learning system and is now listed in the Trusted Cloud Register. date 2025/10/27 press
Policy & Law eco Managing Director Rabe Re-nominated as DSC Advisory Board Member by the German Bundestag Today, eco Managing Director Alexander Rabe was once again nominated by a majority vote of the German Bundestag as a member of the Advisory Board of the Digital Services Coordinator (DSC) at the Federal Network Agency. date 2025/10/16 press
Policy & Law eco – Association of the Internet Industry Warns Against Chat Control: No Weakening of Secure Encryption The draft proposal by the Danish Council Presidency for the planned chat control carries significant risks for citizens, companies and critical infrastructure. Additionally, the latest Annual Report from the eco Complaints Office, which has been working with law enforcement agencies and international partners for over 25 years to combat illegal online content, underscores the high effectiveness of existing structures. eco is therefore calling on the German federal government and EU Member States to reject this proposal on 14 October. date 2025/10/07 press
Policy & Law eco on the Launch of the EU’s “AI Apply” Strategy: Funding Must be Considered Comprehensively Tomorrow, the European Commission will present its new “AI Apply” strategy, aiming to strengthen Europe as an AI hub and promote innovation. The eco Association welcomes this step, but calls for holistic implementation across all sectors. date 2025/10/06 press
Security Strengthening the Pan-Atlantic Digital Future at the Heart of Atlantic Convergence 2025 Ivo Ivanov, the CEO from DE-CIX, explains how the Atlantic Convergence 2025 in Lisbon – taking place from 28 to 30 October – will address urgent security, trust and compliance challenges facing the pan-Atlantic digital ecosystem. date 2025/10/01 press
Policy & Law Before Cabinet Review: eco – Association of the Internet Industry Urges Streamlined Supervision and Fair Implementation of the Data Act The German federal government plans to soon discuss the implementation law for the Data Act in the cabinet. eco welcomes this step, but warns that the German federal government has let valuable time to slip away during the long transition period. Now, swift action must be taken to avoid placing unnecessary obstacles in the path of German companies. date 2025/10/01 press
Policy & Law eco Study: Internet Industry Defies Recession – Total Revenues of 389 Billion Euro Expected by 2030 The German Internet industry continues to grow rapidly – the latest study by Arthur D. Little on behalf of the eco Association forecasts annual growth of around ten per cent despite the recession. According to the study, total revenues will rise from the current €245 billion to €389 billion by 2030. However, eco warns of structural deficits that could jeopardise this growth trajectory. date 2025/09/30 press
Digital Business Models eco and IndustryFusion Cooperate: Sovereign Data Spaces for Industry eco and the IndustryFusion Foundation have agreed on a far-reaching cooperation to promote the expansion of digital infrastructures and sovereign data spaces for industrial applications in Europe. date 2025/09/15 press
Digital Business Models FACIS Launches First Call for Tenders for Digital Contracting Service (DCS) FACIS is launching the first call for tenders as part of the European funding programme, IPCEI-CIS/8ra. The starting point is the Digital Contracting Service (DCS), which enables secure and efficient handling of contract processes in federated cloud and edge ecosystems. date 2025/09/12 press
Policy & Law Data Act Comes into Force – Association of the Internet Industry Warns: Without Rapid Implementation, German Companies Risk Competitive Disadvantage On 12 September, the European Data Act comes into force – providing new momentum for Europe’s data economy. While the EU is already moving forward, Germany is in danger of falling behind, which could further exacerbate existing uncertainties in the Internet industry. date 2025/09/11 press
KRITIS eco On The German Cabinet Approval of KRITIS Act: Act Swiftly, Avoid Duplication Today, the German Federal Cabinet approved the draft bill for the German KRITIS Umbrella Act (KRITIS DG), paving the way for further parliamentary proceedings. ‘The KRITIS Umbrella Act is an important step towards greater resilience in Germany. However, it will only be effective if responsibilities are clearly defined and unnecessary duplication of work is avoided," Ulrich Plate comments. date 2025/09/11 press
Policy & Law “Germany is still in the starting blocks in the AI race” – eco – Association of the Internet Industry Calls for a Turbo Boost for Germany as an AI Location In the context of the stakeholder consultation in the publication of the draft bill for the national implementation of the AI Act, the eco – Association of the Internet Industry warns against a lack of coordination between the responsible authorities and calls for practical implementation. To this end, eco identifies five key levers for Germany as an AI location. date 2025/09/09 press
Policy & Law Planned Amendment to the German Telecommunications Act: eco Welcomes the BMDS' Key Points On 31 August 2025, the consultation period for the extension of the amendment to the German Telecommunications Act ended, and with it the opportunity to officially comment on the key points. eco – Association of the Internet Industry sees the key points of the German Federal Ministry for Digital Affairs (BMDS) as important impetus for the expansion of fibre optics and mobile communications in Germany. date 2025/09/02 press
Policy & Law New Tasks for the Digital Services Coordinator – Bottlenecks Threaten Without Adequate Resources Regarding the draft law on transparency and targeting of political advertising from the Federal Ministry for Digital and Public Administration, eco warns of massive understaffing of the responsible authorities. In the future, the German Federal Network Agency (BNetzA) is to function as the coordinating body for digital services – however, this does not even achieve half of the originally calculated staffing requirements. date 2025/09/01 press
eco eco – Association of the Internet Industry Expands Its Board Member: Silke Kanes Takes On New Portfolio for SaaS as Well as Diversity and Corporate Culture At today’s eco General Assembly, Silke Kanes was elected as a new member of the Board. With her appointment, the Association of the Internet Industry is expanding its Executive Board with a portfolio for Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) as well as diversity and corporate culture, which Kanes will now take on. date 2025/08/29 press
Policy & Law Federal Data Centre Strategy: eco Association Presents 5-Point Plan for a Future-Proof Data Centre Location Data centres are a key growth driver for Germany as a business location. To enable Germany to realise the full potential of artificial intelligence and digital innovations, eco has formulated five key requirements for a data centre strategy of the German federal government. date 2025/08/25 press
Policy & Law eco Criticises Plans for IP Address Storage: A Step Back into Surveillance? eco Association warns against recent plans presented for three-month IP storage obligation. eco Chair Oliver Süme sees this as a clear violation of European law, massive infringements of fundamental rights, and offering no real added value for investigations. Rather than billions of data mountains without added value, the association calls for rule-of-law alternatives such as the Quick Freeze model. date 2025/08/25 press
Policy & Law Digital Policy Between Self-Discovery and Legacy Issues: eco Association Takes Stock of the German Federal Government’s First 100 Days The eco Association takes stock of digital policy after 100 days of the new German federal government. Although the Federal Ministry for Digital Affairs has fulfilled a long-standing demand of the industry, many core digital projects have not yet crossed the starting line. eco sees urgent need for action, particularly in the areas of AI, data centres, administrative digitisation and data protection. eco also critically evaluates the plans for data retention in the new security package. date 2025/08/14 press
Domains YouGov Survey by eco Association: More Than Half of Germans Find Local Domain Endings Useful In addition to well-known Internet endings such as “.de” and “.com”, there is now a wide range of abbreviations that web addresses can end with – and rightly so, as a recent YouGov survey commissioned by eco shows. More than half of Germans consider them to be useful. Thomas Rickert, Director Names & Numbers at eco, contextualises the results. date 2025/08/11 press
Policy & Law Ruling on State Trojans: eco Welcomes Clarification by the German Federal Constitutional Court The German Federal Constitutional Court has declared key regulations concerning Lawful Interception at the Source (Quellen-TKÜ) and online state searches to be partially unconstitutional. eco Board Member Klaus Landefeld welcomes the decision but warns of unresolved risks for IT security. date 2025/08/11 press
Policy & Law eco – Association After One Year of the AI Act: There Is A Lack of Legally Secure Framework Conditions And Political Will to Make AI "Made in Europe" A Success Story One year ago, on 1 August 2024, the European AI Act came into force – a historic milestone for the global regulation of artificial intelligence. Europe has thus set comprehensive standards. date 2025/07/31 press
Policy & Law eco Association on the High-Tech Agenda eco – Association of the Internet Industry regards the High-Tech Agenda of the Federal Ministry of Education, Research, Technology and Space as an important step towards enabling digital innovations “made in Germany”. With this initiative, the German federal government is sending a strong signal for the country’s future viability and demonstrating its recognition of the importance of digital innovation. The Association particularly welcomes the fact that Artificial Intelligence is identified as the number one key technology in the agenda. date 2025/07/30 press
KRITIS NIS 2 Cabinet Decision Is Here: Questions Remain The cabinet decision on the implementation of the NIS 2 Directive was announced today. This puts cybersecurity back on the political agenda – with tangible implications for companies in critical sectors. eco KRITIS expert Ulrich Plate explains the questions that remain unanswered in his latest assessment. date 2025/07/30 press
