AfD on digital affairs

The AfD wants to repeal the Network Enforcement Act (NetzDG) and abolish upload filters because, in its view, both restrict freedom of expression. Courts, not platform operators, should decide whether content is permissible.

The AfD wants to get rid of the NetzDG. This is a law against illegal content on social networks. Upload filters should go too. The AfD says both limit free speech. Only courts should decide about content on the internet.

The NetzDG requires social networks to delete reported unlawful content. The AfD regards it and upload filters as censorship and calls for a free and open internet. Providers of social platforms should be required to grant access without discrimination and to stay neutral on content. Whether content is lawful should as a rule be judged by the judiciary alone. The party also opposes digital technologies used to monitor or patronize citizens and businesses.

The AfD wants to expand digital public administration and make processes leaner and more uniform. Citizens should still be able to choose whether to handle official business online or in person, and to pay fees in cash.

The AfD wants more government services online. The steps should become simpler. But people should still be able to go to the office in person. Everyone should choose for themselves. People should always be able to pay fees in cash.

Digitization of public administration should advance both internally and in dealings with citizens. Municipalities should get more money and advice for projects under the Onlinezugangsgesetz (Online Access Act) that the federal government has required of them. The AfD expects expanded e-government to save time, reduce effort and make procedures more transparent for businesses and citizens. At the same time, an equivalent, easy-to-reach personal contact with the authorities should remain. Fees of any kind should also be payable in cash.

The AfD wants a state-run funding program to close gaps in the mobile network, along with fast internet for the whole population. It cites disadvantages for the business location, people being unreachable in emergencies, and falling property values.

Saarland has many dead zones. In these places, cell phones have no signal. The AfD wants a state funding program to fix this. Everyone should get fast internet. This includes rural areas and areas near the border.

Mobile coverage should in the future be reported by land area rather than per household, because only that shows the real level of service. Minimum coverage with 4G (LTE) should be guaranteed. Following the model of national roaming, switching between different operators' networks should go unnoticed by users and cost nothing extra. Permits for new cell sites should become simpler and faster. The state should support municipal expansion plans, especially in rural and border areas, and promote open networks, aiming for coverage similar to that in urban centers.