Last Thursday, the ECJ ruled that the “Gmail” service should not be treated as a telecommunications service under European law, thus foiling the plans of the German Federal Network Agency to subject web services to the provisions of the German Telecommunications Act.

eco, together with representatives of German and European industry, academia, and civil society, criticizes in an open letter the plans of the German Federal Ministry of the Interior (BMI) for wanting to legally oblige providers of messenger services to retroactively alter end-to-end encryption.

Oliver Süme, eco Chair of the Board, warns against renewed discussions on European information and retention obligations for the Internet industry: “Any policy to revive blanket data retention is not an option, in any form whatsoever.”

“We must make AI safe, trustworthy and successful”, says eco board member Prof. Norbert Pohlmann.

Prof. Norbert Pohlmann, on the need for transparency in algorithms, and keeping the human being in the decision-making loop in the development of AI systems. Read more on dotmagazine.

The European Parliament has adopted the EU Cybersecurity Act. Product manufacturers across Europe are now called upon to take appropriate measures to protect their systems against attacks.

Klaus Landefeld on responsibility for IT security and how combatting crime has paradoxically become one of the greatest threats to security in cyber space.

Read more on dotmagazine.

In the course of the most recent data scandal, the German Federal Minister for Justice Katarina Barley has called for stricter rules for the operators of Internet platforms. eco Association Chair Oliver Süme comments.

Encryption is an effective means to prevent this kind of attack and data theft. Therefore, the German federal government should more strongly support and drive forward the development and dissemination of user-friendly encryption technologies.

From 9th to 11th October 2018, experts and companies from all over the world will be exchanging views and experiences on new solutions and issues relating to IT and Internet security at it-sa – the largest European trade fair for IT security. eco – Association of the Internet Industry and the Alliance for the Strengthening of Digital Infrastructures point out in this context that Internet security already starts at its foundations: namely, with data centers and other operators of digital infrastructures.