Digital sovereignty

Digital sovereignty generally describes the possibility of a person or a society (state etc.) to be able to use digital media with confidence. In addition to individual skills (see media competence ), this also includes the necessary external framework conditions (e.g. safe transport routes, suitable offers, regulatory measures) to ensure that digital media can be used with confidence.

meaning

Derived from the concept of sovereignty , digital sovereignty means self-determined action under complete, personal control with regard to the use of digital media. On the one hand, the term describes the need to act confidently when dealing directly with digital media (e.g. smartphones, tablets, internet, etc.). On the other hand, experts expect that the development of digital sovereignty in various other areas (e.g. culture, education, politics and research) will indirectly "strongly influence future use and success".

Dimensions

Complete digital sovereignty can therefore only be achieved through cooperation between the various actors (citizens / consumers, government, politics and administration, science, business). There are different views here. Along the previous publications and pronouncements, different starting points or dimensions of meaning and scope can be recognized.

Individual skills

The digital society in Germany and its user types: 63% digitally little achieved and 37% digitally sovereign

The individual abilities of the individual determine their digital sovereignty to a large extent. Because digital sovereignty, as an extension of the term media competence, includes not only confident handling of digital media but also the competence to deal with relevant security aspects and possible risks. According to a study by the D21 initiative, so far only 37 percent of the population are digitally sovereign. H. familiar with digital media (2013: 33 percent). In the study published in October 2013 by the Federal Ministry of the Interior on the subject of “Future Paths - Digital Germany 2020”, it is stated that the creation of digital sovereignty in society must be promoted and supported by schools, educational institutions and companies, but primarily everyone Individuals are individually responsible for building their own digital sovereignty.

deals

Another prerequisite is the establishment of offers that enable digitally confident action. Only the provision of appropriate products and technologies that are based on generally accepted standards help individuals achieve digital sovereignty. The BITKOM calls in the publication "IT Strategy - Digital Agenda for Germany" the development of safe and innovative IT systems as an essential component with regard to the future digital development of our society; The development of appropriate technological possibilities is also increasingly being demanded within politics. Above all, the need for end-to-end encryption is increasingly being discussed, which should increase IT security and reduce the risk of data misuse .

Transport route

The provision of secure transport routes is essential to guarantee digital sovereignty. As a result of the so-called NSA affair , there is increasing demand for a system that guarantees the confidential and secure transmission of data in order to enable complete digital sovereignty. The use of transparent, verifiable and certified procedures should strengthen trust in IT products and processes and support the secure and long-term development of digital sovereignty.

Legislation or regulation

The external circumstances largely influence the digital sovereignty of the citizens of a society and society itself. In this context, uniform and unambiguous legislation as well as state regulations such as data protection guidelines and standardized procedures are important. The discussion about the introduction of an EU data protection directive , which should also be applicable to data in and from the Internet, underscores the relevance of the topic of digital sovereignty.

See also

• privacy
• General Data Protection Regulation
• Informational self-determination
• Global surveillance and espionage affair
• German Internet Institute

literature

• Mike Friedrichsen, Peter-J. Bisa (Ed.): Digital Sovereignty. Trust in the network society. Springer VS, Wiesbaden, 2016, ISBN 978-3-658-07348-0 , p. 421
• Lorina Buhr, Stefanie Hammer, Hagen Schölzel (Eds.): State, Internet and digital governmentality . Springer VS, Wiesbaden, 2018, ISBN 978-3-658-18270-0 , p. 238
• Association of the Bavarian Economy eV (Ed.): Digital sovereignty and education . Waxmann Verlag, Münster, 2018, ISBN 978-3-8309-3813-2 , p. 290
• Volker Wittpahl (Ed.): Iit-themed volume digital sovereignty. Citizens, companies, the state . Springer Vieweg Open ( Link ), 2017, ISBN 978-3-662-55788-4 , p. 193

Web links

• Future Paths Digital Germany 2020 . A study by the IT planning council, carried out by TNS Infratest, October 2013.
• IT strategy - digital agenda for Germany . Publication of the Federal Association for Information Technology, Telecommunications and New Media e. V., 2014.
• D21-Digital-Index - On the way to a digital Germany ?! . A study by Initiative D21, carried out by TNS Infratest, April 2013.
• Pierre Bellanger at the Institute for Advanced Studies in National Defense . Pierre Bellanger, French thinker of digital sovereignty and founder of the Skyrock radio at the Institute for Advanced Studies in National Defense IHDN.
• Initiative for digital sovereignty . John Robert Ollhorn, owner of True ITK and founder of the initiative of an interdisciplinary competence platform to promote digital sovereignty.
• Fokko Misterek: Digital Sovereignty. Technological utopias and design claims of democratic politics . Max Planck Institute for the Study of Societies, MPIfG Discussion Paper 17/11, 2017
• Jürgen Beyerer, Jörn Müller-Quade, Ralf Reussner: Karlsruhe theses on the digital sovereignty of Europe, in: Data protection and data security - DuD, May 2018, Volume 42, Issue 5, pp 277 - 280. Springer link

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Mike Kuketz: Comment: Microsoft, Google, Apple and Co. ban from educational institutions. Accessed December 16, 2019 (German). 
2. ↑ Europe's fatal dependence on Microsoft. Retrieved December 16, 2019 . 
3. ↑ ^{a b c d} Future Paths Digital Germany 2020 . A study by the IT planning council, carried out by TNS Infratest, October 2013, accessed on December 9, 2019.
4. ^ D21-Digital-Index - The development of the digital society, p. 16/17 . A study by Initiative D21, carried out by TNS Infratest, November 2014.
5. ^ D21-Digital-Index - On the way to a digital Germany?!, S. 58/59 . A study by Initiative D21, carried out by TNS Infratest, April 2013.
6. ↑ Digital vision for Europe . FAZ.net, November 21, 2013, accessed on June 20, 2014, 9:50 am.
7. ↑ IT strategy - digital agenda for Germany . Publication of the Federal Association for Information Technology, Telecommunications and New Media e. V., 2014, p. 47, accessed on June 23, 2014, 11:55 a.m.
8. ↑ Bundestag is looking for ways out of the NSA debacle . dw.de, November 18, 2013, accessed on June 23, 2014, 11:37 am.
9. ↑ NSA Committee: Experts call for end-to-end encryption . heise.de, June 24, 2014, accessed on July 4, 2014, 3:30 p.m.
10. ↑ Digital sovereignty . spiegel.de, February 3, 2014, accessed June 20, 2014, 10:57 a.m.
11. ↑ Regain digital sovereignty . bundesregierung.de, interview with Alexander Dobrindt, December 23, 2013, accessed on June 18, 2014, 6:07 p.m.
12. ↑ IT strategy - digital agenda for Germany . Publication of the Federal Association for Information Technology, Telecommunications and New Media e. V., 2014, p. 47, accessed on June 23, 2014, 11:55 a.m.
13. ↑ Digital vision for Europe . FAZ.net, November 21, 2013, accessed on June 20, 2014, 9:50 am.
14. ↑ Statement of the Federal Ministry of the Interior on the General Data Protection Regulation for the Berlin Data Protection Round . berliner-datenschutzrunde.de, guest post, May 14, 2014, accessed on June 20, 2014, 4:10 p.m.