PdF on digital affairs

The PdF wants to curb false news through mandatory labels for AI content, detection software, public education and obligations for platforms. It sees disinformation as a threat to democratic opinion-forming but wants to protect free speech in the process.

The PdF wants to act against fake news online. Images and videos made by AI should carry a label. Platforms should do more against fake news and spend money on it. People should learn how to spot fake news. Free speech should stay protected.

AI-generated images and videos would have to be labeled, and algorithms would detect disinformation automatically. As prevention, the program relies on "prebunking," meaning educating people about deception techniques, and on campaigns for all age groups. Independent journalism would receive financial support. Platform operators would have to make their algorithms more transparent, moderate more and spend at least one percent of their global annual revenue on fighting disinformation. The money could go to technology, campaigns and fact-checkers.

The PdF wants to digitize all administrative procedures and make them available through one central online portal. This is meant to cut costs and processing times, while visiting an office in person should remain possible.

The PdF wants people to do all government paperwork online. There should be one central website for this. That should save time and money. Anyone who wants can still go to the office in person.

According to the platform, only 166 of more than 500 administrative services are fully digital nationwide, and only 106 can be handled online including processing and archiving; the focus should be on reaching that stage (maturity level 3). It plans AI and automation such as chatbots for standard requests, open data platforms with public data, and more uses and promotion of the digital identity (eID). Administrative staff are to receive training. Uniform standards are meant to align procedures.

The PdF wants to accelerate the rollout of fiber and mobile networks through more competition, better regulation, and public subsidies. It notes that Germany, with 43.2 percent fiber coverage, lags behind other countries.

The PdF wants faster internet all over Germany. Fiber lines should be built more quickly. Companies should not build twice in the same place. The state should help companies pay for it.

The switch from copper to fiber should be fair; for this the platform plans effective obligations to open networks to service providers. Duplicate rollout in the same place is to be prevented through regulation and coordinated planning. Regional competence centers are to help municipalities with planning and implementation. Network operators are to receive investment grants, and public-private partnerships are to be promoted more strongly.

The PdF supports a KRITIS-Dachgesetz (umbrella law on critical infrastructure) with uniform nationwide minimum standards for protecting sectors such as energy, transport, and health. Operators would have to report security incidents immediately.

The PdF wants to protect important facilities better. Examples are power grids, transport, and hospitals. A new law should set the same rules everywhere. Operators must report attacks and failures right away.

The platform justifies the step with increasingly professional cybercrime and the exploitation of zero-day vulnerabilities. The law is to cover all hazards: cyberattacks, physical attacks, natural disasters, sabotage, and human error. Uniform rules are meant to ensure the same level of protection across all sectors. The reporting duty is intended to allow fast responses and closer cooperation between authorities and operators.

The PdF wants to create a national cybersecurity center to improve coordination among government bodies, businesses, and international partners. It also calls for funding research into security technology and for enough money to respond quickly to new threats.

The PdF wants to build a center for safety on the internet. The state, companies, and other countries work together there. The party also wants more research on safe technology. There should be enough money for this.

The center is meant to serve as a platform for sharing information, developing joint strategies, and providing resources. Research into new security technologies is to be funded and linked more closely with international partners. The platform also calls for sufficient funding so that protective measures can be adapted quickly and flexibly as threats change.

The PdF wants to build a strong AI industry in Germany and implement the EU's AI Act in a way that does not hold back innovation. It proposes AI centers for small and mid-sized firms, state-funded data pools, and support for start-ups, while keeping data protection standards high.

The PdF wants more companies in Germany to work on artificial intelligence, or AI. The EU rules for AI should not weigh too heavily on companies. There should be centers that help small companies use AI. Young companies should get money and help.

Nationwide competence centers are meant to make AI more accessible, especially for small and mid-sized companies, and to offer hands-on training for staff and managers. AI regulation should build trust but, in the party's view, must not create excessive red tape. State-funded data pools with open standards and clear legal rules are to serve as a basis for new business models. Data-driven start-ups are to get funding programs and easier access to venture capital. The EU Data Act is also to be implemented; the platform justifies all this with Europe's digital sovereignty.

The PdF wants research into using blockchain technology in public administration and democracy and wants to support companies developing such solutions. Decentralized payment systems such as cryptocurrencies are to be promoted, provided they are clearly regulated. In the party's view, the potential of this technology has so far gone largely unused.

Blockchain is a technology that stores data safely on many computers. The PdF wants to study how public offices can use it. It wants to help companies that work with it. Digital money like Bitcoin should be promoted. But there should be clear rules for it.

A state-funded, ongoing feasibility study is to examine how blockchain, AI, and similar approaches could make public administration more efficient and transparent, for example in document management. Research is also planned on tamper-proof voting systems that are decentralized and protect privacy. Companies and start-ups with blockchain applications are to receive support. For cryptocurrencies, the platform names transparency, consumer protection, and financial stability as conditions. The party considers the earlier objection about high energy use to be eased by more efficient methods such as proof of stake.

The PdF wants to create a new European body for digital resilience and sovereignty and to buy components for critical infrastructure primarily from European companies. Only components certified under strict European standards would be allowed in critical networks. The party points to risks from opaque supply chains and single points of failure.

Important networks for power, transport, and phones depend on computer technology. The PdF wants to protect this technology better. A new European office should make rules for it. Parts should mainly come from European companies. All parts need a strict check.

The European body is to be given broad powers, develop rules for critical infrastructure, and advise and raise awareness among businesses and the public. In procurement, non-European suppliers would be excluded if resilience and sovereignty cannot be guaranteed. The party rejects a blanket ban on products from particular countries; instead, certification is to assess a product's entire life cycle. Production of secure components in Europe is to be supported under the European Chips Act. More basic research and an open approach to errors are also planned.

The PdF wants to repeal the Netzwerkdurchsetzungsgesetz (NetzDG, Germany's Network Enforcement Act) because, in its view, the law restricts free speech disproportionately and achieves little. It also calls for clearer standards, transparent procedures, and stronger protection of fundamental rights under the EU's Digital Services Act.

The NetzDG is a law against illegal content on social networks. The PdF wants to get rid of this law. It says the law limits free speech too much. An EU law for platforms should also become clearer. Basic rights should be better protected.

The platform calls the NetzDG ineffective and problematic and wants to replace it with approaches that are compatible with fundamental rights. The party describes the EU's Digital Services Act as an important step but sees vague definitions, possible limits on free speech, and heavy burdens on smaller platforms. It therefore calls for clear standards and transparent procedures.

The PdF wants to write net neutrality into law and prevent any weakening of it. The party sees it as a precondition for free speech, fair competition, and innovation.

Net neutrality means all data on the internet travels at the same speed. The PdF wants to put this into a law. Rich companies should not be able to buy a faster line. Network operators should not charge big providers extra fees.

The party rejects calls from network operators to charge large data providers additional fees. Preferential transmission for paying services is to be ruled out. The platform describes net neutrality as a guarantee of free and fair internet access.

The PdF wants software paid for with tax money to be released as open source and publicly funded content to be freely accessible. In the party's view, this promotes transparency, digital sovereignty, education, and innovation.

The state pays for software, research, and data with tax money. The PdF wants everyone to be able to use these things freely. The code of state software should be open. Digital works from museums and libraries should be free of charge.

Under the motto "Public Money, Public Code," software paid for by the state is to be published as open source as a rule. Publicly funded academic work is to be freely available through open access. Government databases, statistics, and documents are to be released unless security or privacy concerns stand in the way. Digitized holdings of libraries, museums, and archives are to be available at no cost. Public funds are also to secure digital libraries and archives and the long-term archiving of digital content.

The PdF wants to enshrine in law a right to make private copies of digitally purchased content. In addition, a right to interoperability is meant to ensure that digital services and devices work together, reducing dependence on large providers.

The PdF wants new rights for users. People who buy digital content may copy it for themselves. Devices and services should work together. People should be able to move their data easily to another provider.

Private copying is meant to allow flexible use of media without, in the party's view, unduly limiting creators' rights. Providers would be required to offer open interfaces and allow data to be exported without obstacles. They are also to promote open-source solutions. The platform expects this to increase competition.

The PdF wants to speed up fiber rollout in rural and economically weak areas with a state-funded program. It also wants a central online portal that lets citizens and businesses handle government paperwork digitally.

The PdF wants to support fast internet in rural areas. The state should pay part of it. People should be able to file forms with offices online. One big online portal should make this possible.

The program sees Germany as lagging in broadband and mobile coverage. Besides public funding, cooperation between private and public players is meant to advance network expansion. A comprehensive e-government portal would bundle administrative services online. Automated processes are meant to make agencies more efficient and citizen-friendly while saving resources.