The question of whether we will still be able to live free and self-determined lives in the future will be decided in the digital space. This applies to both Germany and Europe. The current dependence on American and Chinese digital technology threatens Germany’s sovereignty. This has finally become clear in the new geopolitical situation. Administration, business and private individuals are dependent on technologies and players that do not comply with applicable law and are dominated by companies and governments outside Europe. Germany’s digital dependency is an enormous security risk and hinders both economic and technological development. It undermines democracy, which is not possible without digitalisation based on the rule of law. Digitalisation is not just any policy area. It is the basis of all policy areas and the all-purpose technology of the 21st century. It must therefore be the focus of the new German government’s policy.

The Council for European Public Space therefore calls on the future German government to consistently use the planned investments in digital infrastructure to reduce Germany’s dependence on hardware, software and digital services. Investments that increase the current dependency weaken Germany and therefore Europe. Digital dependency enables an unprecedented level of misinformation, manipulation of public opinion and the Polarisation of the public. The free press is being deprived of advertising revenue and democracy is being undermined as a result.

The CfEPS is therefore calling for a digital infrastructure for information and communication that provides access to trustworthy information and communication spaces that comply with data protection and legal requirements. Public spaces must be actively created that enable reliable information and the free formation of opinion. To this end, the new German government must work closely with European institutions.  After all, Germany’s sovereignty in the digital age can only be secured in a united Europe.

One element must be a decentralised streaming platform for trustworthy news, as is currently being prepared for Europe[1]. By using digital technologies, news and political information from Europe’s media can be made available to all Europeans in their own language on a publicly established and accountable platform. The aim is to strengthen professional journalism so that citizens can access reliable information and independent contributions to opinion-forming. Only based on reliable information can citizens make free and self-determined decisions. And only through a sovereign digital infrastructure does the free press have a chance of survival in Europe. In times of hybrid warfare, democracy must finally be able to defend itself in the information sector. Hence our appeal to the future German government:

• Make sure that funds for digital infrastructure are specifically invested in building a sovereign Euro Stack[2] consisting of European hardware, software and digital services.
• Support the development of a sustainable digital ecosystem for information and communication. Germany and Europe need their own social media, microblogging and media offerings that provide citizens with verified information and independently produced contributions for opinion-forming.
• Support the development of a European news platform that gives citizens access to cross-border information, as guaranteed in Article 11 of the European Charter of Human Rights.

Today, the defense of freedom and democracy takes place above all in the digital public sphere.  We must reclaim it so that we can still determine our own future tomorrow.