CDU on digital affairs

The CDU wants to better protect municipalities, state institutions and utilities against cyberattacks. It plans statewide IT security advice, binding standards and more digital specialists in the police.

Hackers attack towns and utilities more and more often. The CDU wants to protect them better. There should be fixed rules for IT security. The police should get experts for online crime. Power and water should be especially safe.

The program treats digital security as part of internal security and of basic public services. The police are to get specialists in cybercrime and digital forensics. Protection plans are to be in place for emergencies. The CDU foresees special safeguards for critical infrastructure such as electricity, water and health care supply.

The CDU wants to make Rhineland-Palatinate a location for data centers, which it counts as critical infrastructure. It also relies on digital traffic management using artificial intelligence and on open data platforms.

The CDU wants more data centers in the state. These are big buildings with many computers. They should waste little power and pass on their heat. Computers should also guide traffic. This should mean fewer traffic jams.

Clear planning and approval procedures and connections to power and fiber are meant to attract data centers. They are to meet high efficiency standards; use of waste heat, renewable energy and smart load management will be supported. They are to be tied into municipal heating and energy plans. State and municipal IT and sensitive data should preferably sit at secure sites, with binding cybersecurity requirements. AI research and start-ups are to get access to computing power. Open platforms are to pool traffic, weather and energy data, and AI-based traffic control is meant to prevent jams and keep emergency routes clear.

The CDU wants fast internet and mobile coverage across the state and plans a binding timetable for it. Training and accessible services are meant to ensure everyone can take part in digital life.

The CDU wants fast internet in every village. There should be a fixed timetable for this. People should be able to learn how to use the internet. Courses could take place in libraries, for example. The state's online services should be easy for everyone to use.

The party ranks broadband and mobile coverage as being as important as electricity and water and sees the state as a laggard so far. The timetable for fiber and 5G is to focus especially on rural areas. Adult education centers, libraries and community centers are to offer easy-access courses for young and old, for example on online banking and telemedicine. The state's digital services are to be barrier-free and available in several languages. Volunteer initiatives, clubs and senior meetups that provide digital education and devices are to receive support.

The CDU wants all important dealings with authorities to be possible online and plans a statewide service portal with a digital mailbox. In-person advice is to remain available alongside it.

The CDU wants people to handle government business online. There should be one website for the whole state. Everyone gets a digital mailbox there. People should only have to give their data once. In-person help should still exist.

The Onlinezugangsgesetz (Online Access Act) is to be implemented in full. Applications, permits and notices are to be available digitally around the clock; e-files, e-signatures and e-invoices are to work in all municipalities. At the federal level, the CDU wants to push for the once-only principle, under which citizens provide their data a single time. AI is to link existing systems while keeping high data protection standards. Hybrid administrative centers are to combine online services with on-site advice, and every agency is to undergo a digital audit. With the municipalities, the party plans a shared IT platform and uniform standards.