CDU on digital affairs

The CDU wants to make the subject 'Digitale Welt' (Digital World) a regular subject in grades 5 and 6 statewide and to strengthen computer science in lower secondary school. From grade 7, children are to be able to learn with a digital device, and schools' technical equipment is to grow.

Grades 5 and 6 everywhere should have the subject Digital World. From grade 7, children should be able to learn with a digital device. Schools should get better Wi-Fi. Experts should take care of the technology.

Every school is to get virtual classrooms with virtual-reality technology, and a fully digital pilot school is to provide lessons for children who, for example, are ill for long periods. Wi-Fi and IT support are to be expanded with the school authorities; every secondary school is to have at least one IT specialist on site. At the federal level, the CDU advocates a Digitalpakt 2.0 and a uniform data protection strategy with an approved software list. Teachers are to receive mandatory training in media education. Together with Bavaria, AI- and AR-based teaching methods are to be tested and student research centers expanded.

The CDU wants gigabit-capable connections everywhere in Hesse by 2025 and fiber-optic access everywhere by 2030. Public subsidies are meant to flow only where companies do not build networks themselves, especially in rural areas.

The CDU wants fast internet in all of Hesse. By 2030, fiber should be available everywhere. Fiber is a very fast cable for the internet. Companies should build the networks first. The state pays where companies do not build.

The platform keeps the goal of gigabit-capable infrastructure by 2025 and names 2030 as the target year for statewide fiber. The state is to provide the necessary subsidies, and federal funding should become more effective. Under the principle of "market before state," public money should only close gaps, with a focus on rural areas. Permits are to be faster and digital, and municipalities and companies are to get more advice. Network operators should be able to use each other's existing networks. The Wi-Fi program "Digitale Dorflinde" is to add more free hotspots in rural areas.

The CDU wants to close the remaining mobile dead zones in Hesse and make 5G available statewide. It plans a new subsidy program for poorly covered areas and shorter permitting procedures.

The CDU wants good cell phone coverage everywhere in Hesse. Dead zones should disappear. The fast 5G network should cover the whole state. Many new cell towers should be built for this. The state pays where building does not pay off for companies.

The last "white spots" without mobile coverage are to disappear. A "gray spots" subsidy program is to apply where expansion is not commercially viable for providers. By 2025, an average of ten 5G towers per day are to be built or upgraded, based on agreements with providers and leaner permitting. Networks for the Internet of Things such as LoRaWAN are also to be supported. Hesse is to take part in research on the next mobile standard and seek federal funds, among others, for it.

The CDU wants to expand Hesse's digital ministry into a "ministry of the future" that brings together digitalization, research, and technology. In addition, the state is to test new technologies itself and make digital services accessible to everyone.

Hesse has its own ministry for digital topics. The CDU wants to make it bigger. It should also handle research and technology. The state should try out new technology itself. Everyone should be able to use digital services.

The expanded ministry is to combine all digital topics with research and technology. Cooperation with countries such as Singapore and South Korea is to be stepped up, especially on digital security projects. At the European level, the CDU wants to push for better rules on platforms, data, and consumer rights. The state is to lead in the responsible use of technology, for example with data trustees. For people who cannot go online on their own, the platform plans digital assistants and changes to the Social Code; state websites are to be as accessible as possible. A dedicated funding program is to support sustainable digitalization such as green tech.

The CDU wants to build up Hesse as a location for digital companies and names Silicon Valley as its model. This includes venture capital with private partners, more data centers, a regulated Web3 environment, and help for small and medium-sized businesses going digital.

The CDU wants to bring more digital companies to Hesse. Young companies should get money more easily. Hesse should get more data centers. These are buildings with many large computers. Small businesses should get advice on going digital.

The platform plans venture capital together with private investors and a simple digital overview of funding options and contacts. Conditions for data centers are to improve, while waste heat is to be used and CO2 avoided; the state's data center office is to grow into a tool for attracting companies. Municipalities, energy suppliers, and network operators are to plan jointly, for example building areas that use waste heat. Hesse is to become a leading place for regulatory sandboxes and regulated Web3. Small and medium-sized companies are to get new "Digi-Coaches" on top of "Digi-Check" and "Digi-Zuschuss," and the Distr@l funding program is to grow, including for skilled trades and e-health.

The CDU wants to expand funding for artificial intelligence and set up a Hessian agency for breakthrough innovations. The state is also to support the creation of a center for applied quantum computing.

The CDU wants to spend more money on artificial intelligence. The state should set up a new agency for big inventions. The agency should be able to give money to young companies. Hesse should also help build very fast quantum computers.

For AI, funding and infrastructure are to grow: support for start-ups, for computing capacity, and for the transition of mid-sized firms and industry. The AI innovation lab and the AI Quality Hub are to be expanded and made permanent; a "Testing Hub" with the VDE engineering association checks AI quality. The ZEVEDI center is to work on ethical and legal questions of digitalization. The new agency for breakthrough innovations is to be able to supply start-ups with venture capital, and public follow-up funding is to be combined with private capital. The state funds the Fraunhofer center for applied quantum computing.

The CDU wants to strengthen IT security in Hesse's public administration and conclude a cybersecurity pact with municipalities. Binding minimum standards are to apply to state agencies. The program sees information security as a precondition for the state and government remaining able to act.

The CDU wants to protect public offices better from online attacks. State offices should have fixed security rules. The state should help towns and cities with this. A joint pact is planned for that.

The Hessen CyberCompetenceCenter (Hessen3C) is to receive more funding and staff. An information security council is to set standards for the state administration, and the state's chief information security officer is to get a stronger role. Agencies are to follow at least the standards of the Federal Office for Information Security (BSI). Cybersecurity training is to be pooled in one place and research funding broadened. A cybersecurity council is to connect administration, politics, business, academia, and civil society.

The CDU wants to roll out electronic case files in the judiciary quickly and make greater use of artificial intelligence as support. A human is always to make the final decision. Citizens are to get easier access to the courts through digital services.

The CDU wants to make courts more digital. Files should be electronic. Artificial intelligence should help with the work. But a human always decides in the end. People should also be able to file requests online.

IT equipment is to be expanded, more on-site IT support positions created, and staff trained in digital skills. Building on the Frankfurt pilot project "Frauke," AI is to help with air passenger rights cases and cost assessments, for example. A pilot project is to examine whether a central database of forms and drafting aids is useful. Plans include digital legal application offices, more online appointment booking with court officers, and an online civil procedure for certain claims. Legal trainees are to be able to write their exam papers on a computer.

The CDU wants every dealing with state and municipal authorities to be possible online by 2030 in order to speed up procedures. At the same time, offices are to remain reachable in person and be relocated more widely across the state.

By 2030, people should be able to handle all government business online. This should be faster and easier. But people should still be able to go to the office in person. More offices should move to the countryside.

Every Hessian authority is to get a contact point where people can raise their concerns in person and get advice. The CDU backs a nationwide uniform electronic identification (eID) that would enable online procedures, signatures and digital delivery of official mail. More authorities are to be located in a decentralized way, above all in rural areas. Mobile citizens' offices are also to be expanded.

The CDU wants to make the state administration more digitally self-reliant and secure. The state's own IT provider is to be expanded, specialists trained in-house, and the Hessen3C cyber competence center developed further.

The CDU wants better technology in government offices. The state should train its own computer experts. It should be able to build its own software. A center should protect better against attacks from the internet.

Expertise for digital projects is to be pooled at the state's IT provider. A dedicated degree program at the Hessen University of Public Management and Security is to train digitalization specialists. The state should use IT made in Europe and the West where possible and be able to develop and run its own systems. Hessen3C is to respond to growing cybercrime together with science and research. Municipalities are to benefit from the state's know-how through advice and training; remote work, modern offices, and broadband and Wi-Fi in all buildings are also planned.

The CDU wants to weigh data protection and data use against each other more evenly. Data protection should not block digitalization projects, and small businesses and associations should face less red tape. At the same time, citizens are to have more say over their data.

The CDU wants to protect data. But it also wants to use data better. Data protection should not always come first. Small firms and clubs should have less paperwork. People should decide more about their own data.

The program holds that the EU's General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) has two aims, protecting data and letting it move freely, and wants both back in balance. The CDU sees data as a key economic asset whose use in the single market must be ensured; better use is to become possible on a voluntary basis. Legal uncertainty over damages claims is to be removed. Through the Bundesrat, the party wants to ensure that companies, public bodies and associations can keep using common social media platforms, standard software and conferencing systems. Open data is meant to boost transparency and participation.