We start research on Wikipedia, we organize quick purchases via apps and bank transactions on the laptop or keep in touch with distant friends via messenger services.
We are increasingly breaking new ground with autonomous means of transport, and in the health sector, digitization is leading to better diagnoses and thus also to optimized treatments. This progress is based on powerful networks and data.
As Federal Minister for Digital Affairs, I am responsible for two central strategies of the federal government. With the digital strategy, we are developing a target image of where Germany should be in 2025. It is primarily a specification for us as a state; a commitment to take significant digitization steps forward in key areas.
We base this on the results of the gigabit strategy. With it, we ensure the expansion of a high-performance fiber optic network, which makes the use of data possible in the first place. Gigabit and digital strategies allow us to find new solutions to social and economic challenges.
We must vigorously defend freedom of expression online
As Digital Minister, I will ensure that the right framework is in place. We need clear rules of the game so that we can move safely and confidently in the world of data. This is the only way we can guarantee fair competition and protect our identity. We must avoid unilateral dependencies and resolutely oppose the dissemination of illegal content and hate speech.
The Digital Ministry stands for self-determined and secure use of the Internet. We want to further develop consent management on websites (especially via cookies), strengthen the use of secure digital identities throughout Europe and thus take another step towards completing the digital single market.
The focus must be on sovereign and self-determined users. We want to strengthen them, be it against dominant market power or personal attacks. With the Digital Services Act, we will consistently counter the spread of illegal and criminal content on the Internet. But the same applies online: freedom of expression must be vigorously defended.
Even though it can be uncomfortable, it makes us stronger and more resilient. We must counter disinformation with information. But we are not isolated in the world, our sales markets are not limited to Germany, and the suppliers are not only located nearby. That is why we are also committed to fair rules in open markets around the world.
I fundamentally reject the compulsion to save data in a certain place. We have to avoid dependencies through our own strength. The Digital Ministry is the German voice in international bodies such as the OECD, the G7 and the G20. We will strengthen digital sovereignty without erecting new barriers. As part of the G7, I will advocate for the free exchange of data across borders.
The state must lead by example and share its data
In order to be able to play with self-confidence in the digital concert, in addition to the rules, we must first and foremost ensure better availability of the basis of digital business models: data.
As Federal Minister for Digital Affairs, I want to make more and better data accessible. I want to create incentives for data collection and data sharing, both for the private sector and for the public sector.
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The state must lead by example and open up its data for commercial, public interest and research purposes. Here we are pursuing an open data provision policy: We want to make data usable for innovative business models so that Germany can also play in the top league in the digital decade.
The Federal Ministry for Digital Affairs will lead the way and make data from public companies such as Autobahn GmbH or Toll Collect more accessible.
Given the variety of different data, we need a differentiated approach in terms of access, further use and level of protection. The standards for weather data must be different from those for health data – the General Data Protection Regulation sets the right framework for personal data.
For other company data, in particular data from the Internet of Things, the European Commission has made an important proposal with the Data Act, which we now want to shape.
We should consistently replace analogue with digital
For the mobility sector, we rely on two pillars: Above all, open and legally published data is made available via the Mobilithek platform.
In addition, with the “Mobility Data Space” we offer a platform on which mobility data can be shared securely and transparently while protecting property rights. The first applications from this data room are already starting.
In this way we simplify the search for a parking space, enable better traffic forecasts or the choice of means of transport depending on the weather conditions. Such data rooms must also be strengthened and expanded in other areas, for example in the health sector. In addition, we want to push data trustee models that are to be designed according to the specific requirements for security and data protection.
At the end of this legislature, the economy and the public sector, the health sector, government agencies and non-profit organizations should have more and better data available. To this end, we want to create clear and fair rules of the game in Germany and Europe – for users, companies and the state.
If I, as Digital Minister, had one wish, it would be this: As a society, we should have the courage to consistently replace the analog with the digital and end the parallel structures.
They weaken us doubly: on the one hand, they rob digitization of some of its potential, and on the other hand, they burden us with considerable costs. We have neither time to lose nor money to waste. Digital only is our future.
The author: Volker Wissing is Federal Minister for Digital Affairs and Transport
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