SPD on digital affairs

The SPD promises that the entire state will have access to very fast internet within five years. In mobile service, 5G is to become the standard everywhere.

The SPD wants fast internet for all of North Rhine-Westphalia. This should be done in five years. No place should be left out. For mobile phones, 5G should be normal everywhere.

The goal explicitly covers every part of the state. The time frame is five years. For mobile service, the platform names 5G as the statewide standard.

The SPD wants to digitalize public administration faster so that all services for residents are available online. It also wants to promote open-source software and municipal platforms and invest heavily in IT security research.

The SPD wants government offices to be more digital. People should be able to handle all their requests online. The state should help local staff with the change. The SPD also wants to spend a lot on research into secure computer technology.

Offices are to handle digitally whatever works better that way, and municipal staff will get support with the changeover. Like the federal government, the state wants to bring more data expertise into administration. Open-source software is to be promoted in the public and private sectors. Cooperative or municipal platforms, such as for local retail or housing portals, are to be linked statewide and supported with state programs. Local digital networks are to receive advice and tailored programs.

The SPD wants to make state and municipal administration more digital and to present a master plan at the start of the legislative term. The party wants North Rhine-Westphalia to be a digital model for Germany by 2030. Digital services should be easy for everyone to use without shutting out people who cannot or do not want to use them.

The SPD wants public offices to offer more services online. There would be one big plan for this. By 2030 the state should be a role model on this. People who cannot or do not want to go online should still be able to visit an office.

IT infrastructure in municipalities and the state administration would be brought up to date, with staff involved from the start. The master plan, called "Digitales NRW 2030," would include a strategy for public data sovereignty, a digital council with key players, and open standards and interfaces defined together with the digital industry. Test spaces and real-world labs would allow new technology to be tried out early with users. For IT specialists, the SPD plans attractive work models, new pay scales, specialist career tracks, and easier lateral entry. Digital skills would get more weight in public administration training.

The SPD wants to counter disinformation and hate speech online mainly through better media literacy for all age groups. Search engines and social networks are to be regulated more closely through the Interstate Media Treaty in order to protect diversity of opinion.

The SPD wants to make the internet safer. Everyone should learn how to use media well. Then people can spot false news more easily. Search engines and social networks should get more rules. Children should be better protected online.

The state's media literacy framework and related projects, such as those of the state media authority, are to be developed further. Protection of children and young people online should keep improving. The SPD wants to support women in the gaming scene and fight sexism online. Journalistic content should be easier to find on the web, also in view of voice assistants. Online advertising should be monitored more closely to prevent manipulation. The party also backs net neutrality and free internet access for all.