Joana Cotar, September 6, 2022, Digital Deutschland

German Bundestag, September 6, 2022, Plenarprotokoll 20/49, pp. 5280-5281.

Frau President. Valued colleagues.

All real property owners could just recently confirm how good digitalization is in Germany as they attempted, reporting by Elster, to fill out the questionnaire for the new property tax.

             Detlef Müller (SPD-Chemnitz): No problem! Half an hour!

The result: The program went directly down and was no longer to be reached. Welcome to Digital Deutschland 2022! Welcome to a digital developing country!  

That was the tip of the imputation exacted from the citizens. Germany is not in the position to gather together the information lying in the most diverse offices so that the officials themselves can figure the property tax. What nonsense, ladies and gentlemen!

Yes, much is promised in the new digital strategy. This time success shall be measurable, and each Ministry is allowed to contribute projects – whereby “allowed” is the wrong word; since it does not occur voluntarily. On the contrary: The first projects presented to Minister Wissing were so unambitious, so powerless and gutless, that the Minister decreed an after-hours round for the ministerial officials. Therein alone is seen that the majority of this government still have not grasped how our country must be overhauled.

In Germany at the end of 2021, only 7 percent of all broadband connections had fiber optic. In South Korea it is 87 percent, in Spain 79 percent; even Colombia and Costa Rica have overtaken us.

The online access law should provide for that our administration finally becomes digital. By the end of 2022, 575 administrative services should be available online, from the motor vehicle report to wedding announcements. Now guess how many will in fact be available at year’s end. 50! 50 of 575 – a crazy circumstance, ladies and gentlemen. And your solution: You extend the time period – it will surely work out – sometime or other.  

Cyber attacks cost the German economy up to 200 billion euros per year. Operators of critical infrastructure see themselves especially threatened. Where is your concrete answer to that, dear government? Instead of that, you exhibit an unyielding aversion against innovative technologies. Blockchain is meanwhile completely lacking in your strategy – a key technology which you completely ignore. For that, you speak of a “feminist digital policy”. What, God willing, should that be?

            Stephan Berandner (AfD): I ask myself that!

            Isabel Cadematori Dujisin (SPD):  I can gladly clarify!

Ladies and gentlemen, you are now almost a year in government and you still have not once managed to put forward a digital budget; we have heard it. This failure ensues when competences are not bundled in one place and no one bears responsibility, but it is shared by many various ministries which lack the passion for digital…this fragmentation nevertheless has one advantage and indeed for Minister Wissing; since if it again does not work out, he can shove off all responsibility from himself and say: The ministries are guilty. That is almost as practical as Olaf Scholz’s memory lapses, ladies and gentlemen. 

It is however less practical to have a minister who may have a say on digitalization yet has no idea of it. Thus in an interview Frau Faeser demanded so-called hackbacks in case of an attack, only to re-pulp this wish a few weeks later and demand the opposite. First she greeted the initiative for chat control by the EU, then she rejected it, although not entirely so. I am anxious as to what is to come of it. And before all things, I am anxious as to how the FDP will react to that. Following special funds, vaccination obligation, NetzDG [Internet Enforcement Law] and the new infection protection law à la Lauterbach, I therefrom proceed to that those who have betrayed freedom for a ministerial post will also here change their minds, ladies and gentlemen.

The Ampel’s hitherto digital performance is wanting. Yet there is now nevertheless the e-prescription. My absolute highlight in that regard: One can print the digital prescription and so go to the drugstore because the app, first and last, does not work. We are thereby again at the beginning of my speech: Welcome to Digital Deutschland 2022! Welcome to a digital developing country!

Many thanks.

            Maximilian Funke-Kaiser (FDP): Good, you contribute nothing constructive!                        Hearty thanks for this constructive speech!

 

[trans: tem]

 

 

 

 

 

Joana Cotar, March 17, 2022, Telegram Disconnection

German Bundestag, Plenarprotokoll 20/21, pp. 1562-1563.

Frau President. Ladies and gentlemen.

In January, Interior Minister Nancy Faeser threatened the messenger app Telegram with disconnection [Abschaltung] as an ultima ratio. Markus Söder agreed with her and demanded the geo-blocking. And Boris Pistorius, the Lower Saxony Interior Minister, wanted to ban the messenger service from the app stores. The policy appears united: Telegram is dangerous. Telegram must go if the makers of Telegram do not bow to the wishes of the German government.

Pavel Durov, the founder of Telegram, well knows these proceedings, although not from Western democracies; since previously only countries like China, Byelorussia, Russia or Iran have proceeded against Telegram. That the Federal government in fact plays with the thought of aligning itself with this list is a disgrace for our country, ladies and gentlemen, and discloses a double morality which seeks its like. Since, two years ago, the German policy still had a very positive view of Telegram. I remember the praise as it organized oppositionists in Byelorussia. Now, Telegram has become of one of the most important channels of communication in the Ukraine. Ukrainian Telegram channels mostly transmit in three languages: In Ukrainian, in Russian and in English. Thus we too may receive what is happening there. Thus many people in Russia also use the app to grasp at news which does not correspond to the state-sanctioned version of events.

Pavel Durov recently said:

Nine years ago, I defended the private sphere of the Ukrainians from the Russian government – and lost my business and my home. I would without hesitation do so again.

Thus speaks someone for whom freedom really means something, who opposed the powerful and defends the rights of citizens even if he must make sacrifices for that.

In Germany also is the commitment of Telegram in the Ukraine praised. Yet as soon as extra-parliamentary opposition is organized over Telegram, the messenger service suddenly becomes a problem for the policy and a ban of Telegram is debated. Pressure on Apple and Google is exerted so that they threaten the app with expulsion, and nothing is left untried for blocking entire channels.

That Justice Minister Marco Buschmann of the FDP emphasizes that the NetzDG was binding, self-evidently applies also to Telegram, and he wants to more strongly control the messenger service, leaves me completely bewildered since it was the FDP which demanded many times in the last legislative period the abolition of the Internet Enforcement Act. All forgotten! I ask myself how you in the morning can still look in the mirror, valued colleagues.

The disconnection demand also shows how little technical knowledge is on hand. Russia already attempted this disconnection. They blocked 18 million IP addresses in the hope of being able to disconnect Telegram. The result: State websites were no longer reachable, banking services, AI systems, on-line storage; overall, it came to a loss. And Telegram? Telegram simply changed servers and went on. At some time or other, Russia gave up. Freedom had won. For that, it shall now be cut off in Germany. It is about control. People should not network without supervision. People should not make arrangements, not for marches, not for protests. The government is afraid of its own population.

Ladies and gentlemen, the disconnection of Telegram in Germany would be a fatal signal for the world, certainly at the present time,

            Gabriele Katzmarek (SPD): Ach, ja? Man, man, man!

quite irrespective that the European High Court for Human Rights has categorized such proceedings as contrary to basic rights. This appears to have escaped the Interior Minister.

The AfD Bundestag delegation therefore demands of the Federal government: No ban and no network blocking of Telegram! No use of the NetzDG! Do not put Google and Apple under pressure to toss out of their stores legal software applications! Instead, they should improve the means of the state of law and concern themselves that more police officers and more state attorneys are hired and especially trained so that they can do their jobs on the networks; since the same laws apply on the internet as in the analog world.

Dear colleagues, defend with us the right to freedom of opinion on the internet and on messaging services guaranteed by the Constitution, and vote for our motion [Drucksache 20/1029].

Hearty thanks.

            Gabriele Katzmarek (SPD): Defend with you!

            Thorsten Lieb (FDP): An embarrassing scene!

            Gabriele Katzmarek (SPD): Ja, they fear their hate commentaries which                                they are no longer able to get rid of!

 

[trans: tem]

 

 

 

Joana Cotar, January 13, 2022, Digitalization

German Bundestag, Plenarprotokoll 20/11, pp. 667-668.

Frau President. Valued colleagues.

Before I come to the actual theme, a brief, personal remark of my own: The ostracism of the non-vaccinated in the Bundestag as practiced since this week and outside in the society must come to an immediate end. This has nothing but absolutely nothing more to do with healthcare, but is pure chicanery and branding of the non-vaccinated. That healthy people in Germany can no longer normally live and work is a disgrace, ladies and gentlemen.  

Before the excitement here becomes too great – I know, you can make little of freedom – I come to the actual theme of my speech, to the digitalization plans of the Ampel coalition. The new government has proposed much for the next four years – many promises, fine-sounding phrases. We already know all of that from the last four years, and that was with the SPD in the government.

The scientific council of the Economy Ministry in its opinions comes to the conclusion that Germany during the last government has fallen behind many other OECD countries in regards construction of the digital infrastructure as well as in regards an implementation of digital technology and service providers. We thus have not even been able to maintain our standard; we have fallen behind. Yet now all should be better. There are now finally new coalition partners. The network construction will be driven forward, the administration will finally be digitalized. More should be researched, more will be done for the cyber-security. Buzz words like AI, block chain and crypto currency are naturally not allowed to be lacking. In brief: Almost everything which can be wished for in the area of digitalization shall be advanced. That sounds good. It is bitterly necessary.  

Yet let us look again at how believable this is, and let us cast a glance at the parties which make these promises, primarily the FDP which in the last electoral period here really played up and down with the theme of digitalization. One of their central demands was the creation of a digital ministry, a coordinating department which has oversight and manages digitalization in Germany. And what did not come out of this legislative period? A digital ministry. Instead of this, Minister Wissing now concerns himself with digital and transportation. Yet even here are not all digital themes in the house. Thus for example was the gaming area out-sourced and subordinated in the Economy Ministry. The Interior Ministry is responsible for the administrative digitalization, and anyway even the Environment Ministry is also involved. We may still wait a few years for a homogenous digital policy.

What is it with the themes of freedom and privacy on the internet? The protection of these was ever again demanded by the FDP in the legislative period. In that regard, the FDP was always quite open to the abolition of the Internet Enforcement Act [NetzDG] which we of the AfD have always welcomed. That was nevertheless before taking part in the government. After Marco Buschmann then became Justice Minister, he emphasized in one of his first statements that the NetzDG is mandatory, self-evidently also applies to Telegram and that he wants to more rigorously control the messaging service, candidly according to the motto: What do I care about my empty talk of yesterday?

How you of the FDP so quickly capitulate, the word “liberal” cannot quite express, valued colleagues. Whether NetzDG, vaccination obligation, debts-making or 2G – for your ministerial posts you have broken not only central election promises but have straightaway betrayed freedom.  

The Greens who in the last year demanded transparency before all in the Digital Committee, rejected this yesterday. And the SPD? Nancy Faeser’s first statement on digital policy was that she wants to first concern herself with hate and agitation on the internet.

Thus, all that is old is new with the Ampel, ladies and gentlemen. Did you figure we shall now accept the promise that you seriously mean and manage it with digitalization? It would be nice. But, with permission, I’ld sooner believe the resume of Frau Baerbock.

Hearty thanks.

 

 

[trans: tem]

 

Joana Cotar, December 27, 2021, Axis of Good

AfD Kompakt, December 27, 2021. 

Again, a conservative media of an upper range disappears overnight from the market. The problematics are opaque and the censors silent. This is no good sign for freedom.

Particularly pungent is the anti-semitic undertone of the concealed night and fog action; since one of the best known co-workers of the [YouTube] channel is the Jewish publicist Henryk M. Broder. For a good ten years, he shined on state broadcasting and received inter alia the Bavarian Television Prize.

The AfD delegation stands on the side of free media, for variety, against censorship. The Achse des Guten [achgut.com] must go back on-line.

 

[trans: tem]

 

Joana Cotar, July 30, 2021, Facebook

AfD Kompakt, July 30, 2021

A good day for freedom of opinion – though the [Federal Constitutional Court] judges actually have obviously warned of the social media giant Facebook. It may no longer at discretion and without further ado silence its 30 million German users.

Naturally it is right of Facebook to delete and to penalize culpable content, yet criticism of the government, of the left-green Zeitgeist, of the Corona preventive measures, of the immigration policy must be allowed.

Who here censors is moving quite close to the anomie of totalitarian forms of government. Freedom of opinion is a central foundation pillar of our democracy and is unmistakably codified in Article 5 of our Basic Law.

The Alternative für Deutschland stands up for this like no other party.

 

[trans: tem]