Freie Wähler on digital affairs

The Free Voters want to create a separate digital ministry that takes the lead on the administration's digital projects. Public administration is to be fundamentally reformed, with digitalization and AI used across the board.

The Free Voters want a separate ministry for digital matters. It should make government offices digital. Citizens should be able to file applications online. Offices should also use artificial intelligence. Estonia is the model for this.

Responsibility for digital policy is to be taken out of the transport ministry and moved into its own ministry on the Bavarian model, guided by Estonia's example. Together with the states, it would help municipalities switch to digital procedures; the federal government should support counties and towns with planning, financing and construction. Government projects should meet recognized standards for encryption and authentication. The platform expects the administration to be short a quarter of its civil servants soon and therefore wants to rework duplicate structures and outdated processes.

The Free Voters want to push ahead with broadband and mobile network coverage nationwide, especially in rural areas. At least as much money should go into digital villages as into digital cities.

The Free Voters want fast internet everywhere. This matters most for villages and small towns. Villages should get as much money for digital projects as cities. This should also help older people.

The platform sees fast internet as a location factor that businesses and public authorities depend on. It aims for high mobile network standards made in Europe. Investment in “smart villages” should at least match that in “smart cities.” Digitalization is meant to make it easier to combine family and work, improve accessibility and allow older people to stay in their familiar surroundings for a long time.

The Free Voters want sensitive data, such as data on water and energy supply, to be held only on systems inside the EU. Software from non-European companies should be reviewed in these areas, and open source should be preferred.

Important data should stay in Europe. This includes data about water and power. The Free Voters prefer open software there. With open software, anyone can see the program code. The data should be well protected.

The platform counts digital infrastructure as critical infrastructure that should not be controlled by states outside Europe. Data should therefore be stored on servers in the EU, where European law applies. The party wants to reconsider the use of programs from non-European vendors in critical areas and favor open-source solutions. It regards high data security as indispensable and cites the debate over the electronic health card as a cautionary example.

The Free Voters demand legal rules for social media guided by youth protection and protection against objectively false information. Extremist communication and crimes on the internet are to be prosecuted more intensively. An overall strategy against cybercrime with more specialists and equipment is to be developed.

The Free Voters want new rules for social media. The rules should protect young people. They should also protect against false information. The state should go after online crimes more strongly. Agencies should get more experts and better technology.

The platform justifies regulation by saying platforms manipulate users for profit, can be addictive and spread conspiracy theories. So-called trusted flaggers, meaning recognized bodies that report illegal content, are to be supervised by a newly created citizens' advocate office (Bürgeranwaltschaft). Targets for prosecution include calls for violence, incitement, child pornography and illegal drug and weapons trading. For cybersecurity, the platform envisions a strategy involving all law enforcement agencies and deeper cooperation with companies hit by attacks.

The Free Voters want to support digital tools in health care when they improve care. The electronic patient record is to be voluntary, and no one should be disadvantaged because of their data or a refusal to share it. Health data is to receive special protection.

The Free Voters want to use digital tools in health care. The electronic patient record should be voluntary. People who do not share their data should not be worse off. Health data should get extra protection.

The platform sees the benefit of digital technology mainly in better communication between patients and health care workers. Patients are to be informed about the purpose and benefit before any data analysis, and there is to be no scoring of patients or their relatives based on their data. The administrative applications run by Gematik, the national agency for digital health infrastructure, are to be reviewed for usefulness and cost, including costs shifted onto medical practices and businesses. The party calls for improvements in how the EU's General Data Protection Regulation is implemented, without creating excessive red tape. The Federal Office for Information Security is to be expanded and given a separate unit for health data.