Policy & Law

eco Survey on Germany’s Digital Policy in the Corona Crisis: Majority of Respondents Call on Government to Build a High-Performance & Competitive Digital Infrastructure – Time for a Digital Ministry

In light of the Corona crisis, the German federal government should focus more on digital policy issues. 65.4 percent of Germans share this view, according to a representative survey commissioned by eco – Association of the Internet Industry from the opinion research institute Civey - a survey in which 2,500 people in Germany took part at the beginning of August.

date 2020/08/13

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Policy & Law

eco Welcomes the German Federal Network Agency’s Security Catalogue: Transparent 5G Network Roll-out Without Discrimination

The German Federal Network Agency (BNetzA) today published the latest draft of its security catalogue. eco welcomes the fact that the BNetzA has not succumbed to political pressure and has focused on appropriate criteria for the security of telecommunications networks.

date 2020/08/12

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Policy & Law

eco on the German Copyright Service Provider Act: Call for an Unequivocal Rejection of Upload Filters

In June, the German Federal Ministry of Justice and Consumer Protection (BMJV) published a discussion draft on a Second Act on the Adaptation of Copyright Law to the Requirements of the Digital Single Market. With the related Act, the controversial Art. 17 of the EU Copyright Reform (DSM Directive) is also to be transposed into German law.

date 2020/08/04

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Policy & Law

eco Criticizes new German Telemedia Act: Legislator misses opportunity to give clear rejection to the blocking of Internet content

On 2 July 2020, the German parliament, the Bundestag, passed a bill to amend the German Telemedia Act (TMG). eco regrets that the legislator did not take the opportunity to finally eliminate the basis for the blocking of Internet content, which creates legal uncertainty for businesses and citizens alike and is not an adequate means of enforcing copyright claims on the Internet.

date 2020/07/22

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Policy & Law

AI strategy for companies: Eight steps to digital transformation

For the majority of the companies, what is currently most relevant is a strategy that strengthens their own value creation in the long term.

date 2020/07/22

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Policy & Law

eco on the End of the EU-US Privacy Shield: The consequences for companies & international data traffic are dramatic

The European Court of Justice today overturned the EU-US Privacy Shield Agreement.  The Association of the Internet Industry predicts a significant impact on many companies in the EU that have relied on the Privacy Shield for data transfers to the US.

date 2020/07/16

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Policy & Law

eco on the Upcoming ECJ Decision on EU-US Privacy Shield

The European Court of Justice (ECJ) will decide today, 16 July, in the Schrems II case, whether the standard contractual clauses of the European Commission and, if applicable, the EU-US Privacy Shield rule will apply to the transfer of personal data to countries outside the European Union.

date 2020/07/16

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eco

Start of the German EU Council Presidency: Association of the Internet Industry Presents 6 Requirements for Greater Digitalisation in Europe

To mark the start of the German EU Council Presidency, the Association of the Internet Industry has compiled a 6-point catalogue of requirements for Europe’s digitalisation. eco also calls for a pan-European Digitalisation Roundtable comprised of national representatives of the Internet industry.

date 2020/07/01

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Policy & Law

GDPR Evaluation: eco Calls for Clear Rules and Assistance for SMEs

The GDPR has been in force since 25 May 2018. From the perspective of the eco Association, despite initial concerns, the GDPR has after two years now established itself as a fundamentally appropriate regulatory instrument – but there is still room for improvement in its implementation for SMEs.

date 2020/06/24

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Policy & Law

eco: “With the reformed Network Enforcement Act, German lawmakers are widely overshooting the mark when it comes to effective law enforcement on the Internet”

Hate and incitement to hatred have no place on the Internet. eco fully endorses this view and is an active advocate for an Internet with responsibility. But eco still sees a substantial need for improvement in the drafts for the revision of the German NetzDG, presented by the German Federal Ministry of Justice and Consumer Protection (BMJV).

date 2020/06/17

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Bild: imago images / epd

Policy & Law

eco on the New Corona App: "If we achieve a breakthrough, the technology can save lives!"

This Tuesday morning, the German government, the Robert Koch Institute and participating companies presented the German federal government's new COVID-19 tracking app, the Corona WarnApp. eco – Association of the Internet Industry, which has actively accompanied the discussion on the development of the new app from the very beginning, advocates the use of the data protection-compliant app and hopes for broad acceptance within the German population. However, eco rejects a legal obligation to install the app.

date 2020/06/16

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Policy & Law

eco on new EU Measures: Combating Disinformation on the Internet is a Social Problem

The EU Commission presented new measures to combat disinformation in connection with the coronavirus on 10 June 2020. With the new guidelines, operators of social networks are now to report monthly on how they deal with false information about the COVID-19 pandemic.

date 2020/06/15

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Long exposure taken in the Fort McHenry Tunnel, Baltimore, Maryland.

Policy & Law

eco on the Planned Right to Fast Internet: Expansion Obligations are Counterproductive

eco: a legally and planning secure regulatory environment is the basic prerequisite for the predominantly private-sector expansion of gigabit networks as the most important pillar for achieving the German and European gigabit targets. The association views an expansion obligation with concern.

date 2020/06/15

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Policy & Law

eco Association: Recovery Package Must Provide the Necessary Boost to Innovation and Modernisation after Corona

Responding to the impact of the Corona pandemic and the deteriorating global economic situation, the German coalition agreed on Wednesday evening to a historically-significant economic recovery package to the tune of 130 billion Euro for this and next year. The eco Association welcomes the fact that a share of the budget will also be used to promote digital technologies.

date 2020/06/05

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Security

eco Comments on German IT Security Act 2.0: Snooping clauses are not an option

For the Association of the Internet Industry, the responsibilities and liability for IT security must be regulated in a balanced manner within the framework of the IT-SiG 2.0 and security gaps must be closed quickly: State back-doors and the targeted weakening of encryption are counterproductive for IT security and jeopardise confidence in the use of digital services.

date 2020/05/28

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