Toggle navigation eco Press Releases Press Releases Press Distribution List Press DownloadsPress TextPhotographsLogosStudiesAnnual ReportsPortfolio 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 Policy & Law Leaked German Federal Ministry of the Interior and Community (BMI) Draft Reveals Plans for Mass Surveillance – eco Warns Against Dismantling Constitutional Controls With the leaked draft of the "Security Package 2.0", the German Federal Ministry of the Interior is planning far-reaching digital surveillance powers – some of which would not be subject to judicial review. eco – Association of the Internet Industry warns against dismantling constitutional safeguards and calls for a reorientation in line with fundamental rights. date 2025/07/24 press E-Mail Focus on Email Security: Apply Now for the BSI Hall of Fame With the “Email Security Year 2025”, the German Federal Office for Information Security (BSI), eco – Association of the Internet Industry, and Bitkom are sending a strong signal for secure digital communication. date 2025/07/22 press Policy & Law eco Industry Pulse: East-West Divide in AI Use – Unclear Legal Situation and Security Concerns Are the Biggest Hurdles for Companies Only 10% of respondents to the eco Industry Pulse – a recent survey of IT decision-makers* conducted by the market and opinion research institute Civey on behalf of eco – Association of the Internet Industry – believe that Germany is well prepared for upcoming AI developments. Germany also receives poor marks as a digital location: 72% of IT decision-makers in Germany rate the state of digital transformation as poor to very poor. One third even give it a grade of 6. date 2025/07/21 press Security Smartphones: A Holiday Hazard? eco Survey Reveals That One in Three People Do Not Protect Their Data eco warns: 27% of Germans do not secure their mobile phones when on holiday. Here are five simple tips to protect yourself against data theft, identity theft and other risks. date 2025/07/09 press Policy & Law Holiday Photos: Only 5 Per Cent Blur Children’s Faces The first federal states have already started their summer holidays and many families will be sharing their holiday experiences with friends and relatives via social media. But how conscious are parents and holidaymakers when it comes to sharing holiday photos? date 2025/07/08 press Datacenter Competitive Electricity Prices for Data Centres: eco Alliance Welcomes Initiative by Reiche, Federal Minister for Economic Affairs and Energy in Germany Lower electricity costs for data centres mean more growth potential for the German economy – it’s basically a simple calculation. It is good that Reiche, Federal Minister for Economic Affairs and Energy in Germany, has recognised the potential of data centres for the German economy and brought it back onto the political agenda in the context of electricity price subsidies. date 2025/07/08 press Datacenter The Hessian Data Centre Strategy: A Blueprint for Germany The Alliance for the Strengthening of Digital Infrastructures in Germany, an initiative founded within the eco Association by operators of digital infrastructure ecosystems, welcomes the data centre strategy announced today for the German federal state of Hesse and calls for a similar approach at the federal level to strengthen... date 2025/07/04 press Datacenter Appeal to the German Federal Government: Include Data Centres in Electricity Tax Reduction After the leaders of the CDU/CSU and SPD postponed the reduction in electricity tax originally agreed in the coalition agreement, the Alliance for the Strengthening of Digital Infrastructures in Germany, founded under the umbrella of the eco Association, appealed to the German Federal Government: date 2025/07/04 press Artificial Intelligence Start Signal for LEAM in the Rhenish Mining Area: Structural Change Meets AI In close cooperation with eco and the AI Federal Association, LEAM is launching one of the most ambitious innovation projects for digital structural change and European AI sovereignty in the Rhineland mining region today. date 2025/07/03 press Datacenter eco Alliance Calls for Industrial Electricity Price for Data Centres The eco Alliance welcomes the EU Commission’s intention to allow Member States to introduce an industrial electricity price. The initiative, founded by the eco Association, is now calling on the German federal government to act swiftly and include data centres in the electricity price compensation scheme, as announced in the coalition agreement. date 2025/06/26 press Policy & Law German Federal Government’s 2024 Take-Down Report: Hotlines Remain Indispensable – Decline in Case Numbers Not a Sign of All-Clear The German federal government reports 31,536 reports of child sexual abuse material in its latest evaluation report for 2024 – fewer than in the record year of 2023, but still significantly higher than in all previous years. The figures correspond to the latest reports from the eco Complaints Office. date 2025/06/18 press Datacenter Artificial Intelligence and Data Centres Go Hand in Hand With AI Gigafactories, the EU aims to catch up in AI development. At least one of the planned super data centres is supposed to be built in Germany — according to the federal government's goal. eco supports this initiative but warns of a bureaucratic obstacle hurdle. date 2025/06/10 press Security BKA Situation Report Confirms Urgent Need for Action: eco Calls for Consistent Cyber Resilience Strategies In view of the growing threat posed by ransomware, eco – Association of the Internet Industry is calling for the consistent implementation of “security by design” and a significant rethink of cyber resilience in companies. Although investigative authorities are doing valuable work in investigating cyber attacks, private... date 2025/06/05 press Policy & Law eco on the Investment Emergency Programme The planned tax relief measures are long overdue, but are an absolutely correct step to move Germany forward as a business location. In the currently strained economic situation, the draft legislation marks a decisive turning point to promote growth – regardless of whether it concerns a large corporation or a family business. date 2025/06/05 press Policy & Law Digital Tax Is a Serious Blow to Digitalisation in Germany and Transatlantic Relations The eco – Association of the Internet Industry has strongly criticised the initiative by Minister of State for Culture Wolfram Weimer to introduce a digital tax in the form of a “platform solidarity levy”. date 2025/05/29 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
Policy & Law Leaked German Federal Ministry of the Interior and Community (BMI) Draft Reveals Plans for Mass Surveillance – eco Warns Against Dismantling Constitutional Controls With the leaked draft of the "Security Package 2.0", the German Federal Ministry of the Interior is planning far-reaching digital surveillance powers – some of which would not be subject to judicial review. eco – Association of the Internet Industry warns against dismantling constitutional safeguards and calls for a reorientation in line with fundamental rights. date 2025/07/24 press
E-Mail Focus on Email Security: Apply Now for the BSI Hall of Fame With the “Email Security Year 2025”, the German Federal Office for Information Security (BSI), eco – Association of the Internet Industry, and Bitkom are sending a strong signal for secure digital communication. date 2025/07/22 press
Policy & Law eco Industry Pulse: East-West Divide in AI Use – Unclear Legal Situation and Security Concerns Are the Biggest Hurdles for Companies Only 10% of respondents to the eco Industry Pulse – a recent survey of IT decision-makers* conducted by the market and opinion research institute Civey on behalf of eco – Association of the Internet Industry – believe that Germany is well prepared for upcoming AI developments. Germany also receives poor marks as a digital location: 72% of IT decision-makers in Germany rate the state of digital transformation as poor to very poor. One third even give it a grade of 6. date 2025/07/21 press
Security Smartphones: A Holiday Hazard? eco Survey Reveals That One in Three People Do Not Protect Their Data eco warns: 27% of Germans do not secure their mobile phones when on holiday. Here are five simple tips to protect yourself against data theft, identity theft and other risks. date 2025/07/09 press
Policy & Law Holiday Photos: Only 5 Per Cent Blur Children’s Faces The first federal states have already started their summer holidays and many families will be sharing their holiday experiences with friends and relatives via social media. But how conscious are parents and holidaymakers when it comes to sharing holiday photos? date 2025/07/08 press
Datacenter Competitive Electricity Prices for Data Centres: eco Alliance Welcomes Initiative by Reiche, Federal Minister for Economic Affairs and Energy in Germany Lower electricity costs for data centres mean more growth potential for the German economy – it’s basically a simple calculation. It is good that Reiche, Federal Minister for Economic Affairs and Energy in Germany, has recognised the potential of data centres for the German economy and brought it back onto the political agenda in the context of electricity price subsidies. date 2025/07/08 press
Datacenter The Hessian Data Centre Strategy: A Blueprint for Germany The Alliance for the Strengthening of Digital Infrastructures in Germany, an initiative founded within the eco Association by operators of digital infrastructure ecosystems, welcomes the data centre strategy announced today for the German federal state of Hesse and calls for a similar approach at the federal level to strengthen... date 2025/07/04 press
Datacenter Appeal to the German Federal Government: Include Data Centres in Electricity Tax Reduction After the leaders of the CDU/CSU and SPD postponed the reduction in electricity tax originally agreed in the coalition agreement, the Alliance for the Strengthening of Digital Infrastructures in Germany, founded under the umbrella of the eco Association, appealed to the German Federal Government: date 2025/07/04 press
Artificial Intelligence Start Signal for LEAM in the Rhenish Mining Area: Structural Change Meets AI In close cooperation with eco and the AI Federal Association, LEAM is launching one of the most ambitious innovation projects for digital structural change and European AI sovereignty in the Rhineland mining region today. date 2025/07/03 press
Datacenter eco Alliance Calls for Industrial Electricity Price for Data Centres The eco Alliance welcomes the EU Commission’s intention to allow Member States to introduce an industrial electricity price. The initiative, founded by the eco Association, is now calling on the German federal government to act swiftly and include data centres in the electricity price compensation scheme, as announced in the coalition agreement. date 2025/06/26 press
Policy & Law German Federal Government’s 2024 Take-Down Report: Hotlines Remain Indispensable – Decline in Case Numbers Not a Sign of All-Clear The German federal government reports 31,536 reports of child sexual abuse material in its latest evaluation report for 2024 – fewer than in the record year of 2023, but still significantly higher than in all previous years. The figures correspond to the latest reports from the eco Complaints Office. date 2025/06/18 press
Datacenter Artificial Intelligence and Data Centres Go Hand in Hand With AI Gigafactories, the EU aims to catch up in AI development. At least one of the planned super data centres is supposed to be built in Germany — according to the federal government's goal. eco supports this initiative but warns of a bureaucratic obstacle hurdle. date 2025/06/10 press
Security BKA Situation Report Confirms Urgent Need for Action: eco Calls for Consistent Cyber Resilience Strategies In view of the growing threat posed by ransomware, eco – Association of the Internet Industry is calling for the consistent implementation of “security by design” and a significant rethink of cyber resilience in companies. Although investigative authorities are doing valuable work in investigating cyber attacks, private... date 2025/06/05 press
Policy & Law eco on the Investment Emergency Programme The planned tax relief measures are long overdue, but are an absolutely correct step to move Germany forward as a business location. In the currently strained economic situation, the draft legislation marks a decisive turning point to promote growth – regardless of whether it concerns a large corporation or a family business. date 2025/06/05 press
Policy & Law Digital Tax Is a Serious Blow to Digitalisation in Germany and Transatlantic Relations The eco – Association of the Internet Industry has strongly criticised the initiative by Minister of State for Culture Wolfram Weimer to introduce a digital tax in the form of a “platform solidarity levy”. date 2025/05/29 press
