The Law and Regulations Competence Group is the central platform for discussion and information among eco member companies. It is where content coordination is organised, position papers are prepared, enquiries on legal and regulatory topics are answered, and where eco’s general positioning on the relevant Internet and network policy topics and questions is discussed. Through the Competence Group, members are given the opportunity to actively participate in legislation at the German federal and state level, as well as the EU level, and thus to participate in the development of legal policy.

The Law & Regulations Competence Group had numerous points of contact with the political and regulatory arena in the year under review. The meetings of the Competence Group were used to provide an overview on current legal policy issues and legislative projects and to discuss these together with the member companies.

One of the meetings of the Law and Regulations Competence Group focused on the topic of “Data, Handling Data, Especially Personal Data”. The session primarily addressed issues arising from data-based and data-centred value creation, be it access, usage or the exchange and sharing of data.

Prof. Kelber, the German Federal Commissioner for Data Protection and Freedom of Information, was invited to be the keynote speaker. In his keynote address, Prof. Kelber discussed the European CSAM Regulation (keyword: “chat control”), the future of data retention regulations, and potential new regulations such as quick freeze and IP data retention. From a data protection perspective, he also covered the topic of the current status of transatlantic data exchange within the Trans-Atlantic Data Privacy Framework. Furthermore, he outlined the upcoming implementation of the German Telecommunications Digital Services Data Protection Act (TDDDG) and the handling and anonymisation of data.

In the year under review, a wide range of current network policy topics and legislative projects were on the agenda. In particular, following the launch of the Commission’s long-awaited gigabit strategy and its proposals for gigabit connectivity by 2030, an intensive discussion took place regarding the EU Commission’s proposal for a “Gigabit Infrastructure Act”. The Competence Group also provided an overview of current legal policy issues and legislative projects and discussed these with member companies.

As cross-cutting issues, the Energy Efficiency Act and electricity price cap were of particular relevance to many member companies. In the context of a law aimed at introducing an electricity price brake, the German federal government had introduced temporary immediate measures to reduce the burden on consumers. However, despite being a particularly electricity-intensive sector, sufficient consideration was not applied to data centres. The Energy Efficiency Act is intended to enforce a cross-sectional and intersectoral reduction in energy consumption. Companies believe that the requirements set out in the draft pose a threat to the data centre landscape in Germany. In particular, the planned introduction of mandatory waste heat utilisation is regarded as a challenge for data centre operators.

Additional points of connection for professional exchange arose from the planned legislative measures on cybersecurity and IT security. At the European level, the focus was on the European Data Act, the CSAM Regulation and the Data Governance Act.