Digital summit: The big data hope

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Germany is in a better position in terms of digitalization than generally assumed. But there is still a lot of room for improvement, particularly in the data economy and artificial intelligence. It is this message that Digital Minister Volker Wissing (FDP), Economics Minister Robert Habeck (Greens) and Federal Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) brought with them to Frankfurt for the first day of the Federal Government's Digital Summit.

Data use and data protection

Olaf Scholz also admits that there is too much dependence on other countries. However, it is still not too late for more sovereignty: "We have the opportunity to secure it. But that is a major challenge for us." However, now is the time for a decade of progress and digitalization.

The Chancellor emphasized that he was also prepared to talk about existing rules and called on the economy to articulate concrete needs: "The only thing that doesn't help is abstract talk." The Chancellor sees opportunities for readjustment in the use of data, for example. The relationship between data protection and data use will have to be "readjusted", said Scholz.

Habeck and Wissing also echoed this sentiment on Monday. However, at the summit, the German government failed to explain exactly what this should look like – The only thing that is currently foreseeable and announced is a research data law that is intended to enable the extended use of personal data.

"Not the hub of the world"

Germany is not the "navel of the world", warned Vice Chancellor Robert Habeck regarding AI. "That is no longer the case in any area." However, "the train has not yet left the station", added Digital Minister Volker Wissing. Promising projects are being developed in the field of AI in Germany and Europe.

According to a survey published by the Bitkom association to coincide with the summit, companies that are working with AI and are already using it see more opportunities and fewer problems than those that are still a long way from using it. According to Wissing, it is now important to take advantage of these opportunities, especially with trustworthy AI.

However, it is already clear that the Federal Network Agency will be the lead supervisory authority for the AI Act in Germany. The Federal Network Agency is already partly a market surveillance authority, i.e. responsible for compliance with product regulations, especially for wireless devices. In the case of AI, it will now work with other bodies to ensure that the new EU regulations are complied with.

However, it is still unclear what powers the regulatory authority will have. This also applies to the role of the Federal Network Agency as coordinator of the Digital Services Act. What is still missing here too: jobs. The budget negotiations in the Bundestag are currently debating how the necessary additional posts can be created despite the budget cuts. The DSA clearly regulates how the supervisory body must be equipped. If Germany does not do enough here, it could face EU infringement proceedings.

DSA: Wrong discussion

The DSA is also being discussed in Frankfurt – After the loud criticism of the DSA and the so-called "trusted flaggers", participants at the summit are irritated by the debate. Daniela Kluckert, Parliamentary State Secretary at the BMDV, points out that the DSA requires the moderation of illegal content and does not regulate "hate and agitation" in general. Lutz Mache from Google explained that Trusted Flagger had already been introduced on YouTube 10 years ago – and that the concept had been tried and tested.

But even beyond this, there are various points worth discussing DSA. For example, Prabhat Agarwal from the EU Commission reported on ideas in individual member states to create further regulation in addition to the DSA. However, the DSA is actually intended to regulate the requirements conclusively for providers in the EU so that the same rules apply everywhere in the single market.

"So far, the promise of transparency has only been kept behind closed doors," criticizes Josephine Ballon from HateAid. It is important that both researchers and civil society know more about the real practices of the platforms. Otherwise, the role of organizations such as HateAid is limited and there is an urgent need for improvement.

Digital Ministry: not likely with Habeck

Will Germany finally need a digital ministry after the next election? Chancellor candidate Habeck considers this to be difficult, as the tasks of the various ministries are too diverse when it comes to digitalization. Wissing emphasizes that he is already Digital Minister and that the ministry has made good progress in this legislative period. Wissing at least did not want to rule out the possibility of spinning off the digital section.

(nie)