WHITE PAPER DIGITAL PLATFORMS Digital regulatory policy for growth, innovation, competition and participationWHITE PAPER DIGITAL PLATFORMS Digital regulatory policy for growth, innovation, competition and participationContentsPreface 61. Where we are: Far reaching changes for economy and society 121.1 Digital remapping of the world 141.2 Digital infrastructures pave the way for digitalisation 171.3 Platforms as driver of development 211.4 The digitalisation status quo in Germany and Europe 241.5 New opportunities in digitalisation 261.6 From Green Paper to White Paper 312. Where we want to get to: The European path in the digital age 382.1 Transformation instead of disruption 412.2 Growth dynamism and participation 442.3 Security and clear rules for democratic discourse 492.4 European sovereignty 513. What we will do: Our digital policy agenda 543.1 Promoting and shaping competition fairly 573.1.1 General competition law 583.1.2 Level playing field for OTTs 613.1.3 Dual, proactive competition law 633.1.4 International tax competition 663.2 Creating a modern data economy 663.2.1 Free flow of data and rights to use data 673.2.2 General Data Protection Regulation 703.2.3 Seals and certificates 713.2.4 Trust Services Act 723.2.5 Transparency rules 743.2.6 Self-learning algorithms 763.2.7 Data portability 763.2.8 Law on general terms and conditions of business 783.2.9 Experimentation rooms 793.3 Setting up gigabit-capable digital infrastructures across the nation 803.3.1 Support and promotion of the expansion of gigabit networks 853.3.2 Investment-oriented telecommunication regulation 873.3.3 WiFi hotspots 893.4 Securing a democratic digital culture 913.4.1 Strengthening of basic rights in the internet 933.4.2 European complaints system 963.5 Digital state competence and institutional structure 973.5.1 Closing the competence gap 983.3.2 Model variants of a digital agency 1014. Summary and outlook: Digitalisation “made in Europe” 102Preface8PrefaceThe ongoing development of the German and European economy towards a digital production and platform economy promises to become a driver of growth, innovation, productivity and employment. We need to prepare for this. Industry, society, and politics all must pull together here.How can we achieve inclusive growth for a democratic society in an afflu-ent Europe? In my view, we can do this through a digitally transformed economy with a strong industrial base, through digitally proficient com-panies and citizens, and through a politically, economically and socially strong Europe. Our agenda is not only focused on Germany. We wish to realise the Digital Single Market in a social European Union.The process of digitalisation has great growth and efficiency potential. According to information from the European Commission, a Digital Single Market could contribute 415 billion euros per year to the economic performance of the European Union and create hundreds of thousands of new jobs. For example, the market volume of the Internet of Things is estimated to be some 1.9 billion euros in 2020.1The Digital Strategy 2025, in which baselines, measures and objectives were presented by the Federal Ministry of Economic Affairs and Energy (BMWi) at the beginning of March 2016, identified central principles and areas of action designed to make best possible use of digitalisation as an important stimulus for the shaping of our economy and society.All in all, we come to the conclusion that the digital revolution can repre-sent a qualitative leap forward for Germany if we set the right course.Our success model for growth, innovation and employment is the Social Market Economy. The Social Market Economy means competition, free-dom to contract, free pricing, private ownership and liability for economic decisions. Digital business models are challenging these attributes.1 Boston Consulting Group: Digitizing Europe. Why Northern European Frontrunners Must Drive Digitization of the EU Economy, 2016 a.9de.digitalHow can competition be ensured where network effects can lead to mar-kets being closed off due to concentration trends? How can the freedom to contract be maintained if the data control by platform operators leads to information imbalances? Which function is performed by the pricing mechanism where services are provided on one side of the platform free of charge because they are funded by payments on the other side? What is the role of ownership when data become a common good which, however, can be randomly multiplied? And how can liability gaps be avoided where freedoms unfold without the assumption of responsibility?The Social Market Economy also has answers to these questions. Its fun-damental principles have not lost significance or applicability although its influence must be adjusted to the altered economic and social reality. The order of the digital markets must be determined and the regulatory policy of digitalisation formulated. Our intention with this White Paper is to move a decisive step closer to this objective and to provide answers.As we see it, two objectives are paramount: Facilitating inclusive growth by investments and innovations on the basis of fair competition. Guaranteeing individual basic rights and data sovereignty.The digital economy is challenging society as a whole to adjust. Any such adjustment can only succeed if based on wide-spread dialogue. It was therefore important to incorporate all stakeholders in a broad and detailed process and to give them space for ideas and suggestions and of course also for opposing arguments and positions.10A period of four months was deliberately set for the consultation phase in order to give business representatives, associations and interested parties from all areas of society time to contribute their input. They were able to actively contribute to the debate through different communication channels. We provided the initial impetus with twelve propositions and 52 questions to trigger an animated discussion processThe participation numbers confirmed that there was a need to address the topic in depth. Almost 65,000 visits to the online participation portal de.digital, 263 contributions and 10,464 assessments were received. In addition, 70 extensive written opinions were submitted by businesses, industrial associations, trade unions, non-profit organisations, the scien-tific community and the interested general public. Finally, we held five workshops on the future shaping of a regulatory framework for digital platforms together with experts from industry, science, the civil society and politics, flanked by many discussions. The White Paper is the result of this consultation process.We want the same rules for all providers on a market. Where messenger services and other over-the-top services compete with traditional tele-communication services, the same rules must apply for consumer protec-tion, data protection and security throughout Europe.We want to shorten the time official procedures take to avoid any en-trenchment of restrictions on competition. We therefore want to create an environment in which long-lasting procedures involving authorities and courts are avoided. New technologies need to be introduced quickly, and the necessary investment undertaken rapidly and on a basis of legal certainty. This is of great importance particularly in dynamic digital markets.