(de-news.net) – Germany is dealing with two aspects of digital transformation: rising efforts to develop competitive, secure AI capabilities and calls for more robust protections against the threats that social media poses to minors. While officials and companies concentrate on AI-driven cyber dangers, innovation, and digital sovereignty, consumer advocates, pediatricians, and legal experts are advocating for more stringent platform regulation.

German consumer advocates are pressing for more robust safeguards for children and teenagers on social-media platforms following the U.S. legal settlement involving Meta. The debate reflects a broader concern over how digital services can be made safer for minors without cutting them off from online participation. Ramona Pop, head of Germany’s Federal Association of Consumer Organizations, said measures such as usage caps, nighttime restrictions and disabled notifications could reduce the pressure placed on younger users. She pointed to the U.S. agreement, under which Meta is required to make changes to Facebook and Instagram for children and teenagers, while emphasizing that such steps would not address the underlying causes of excessive or harmful use.

Pop argued that the central problem lies in business models and algorithms designed to hold users’ attention for as long as possible. For children and teenagers, she said, protection therefore cannot consist solely of imposing limits on the amount of time they spend online. Instead, platforms should be designed to be safe from the outset, with responsibility shared by technology companies and regulators rather than left primarily to parents. She also proposed that high-risk features should be accessible only after users have demonstrated that they are adults. Such safeguards, in her view, should protect minors without preventing them from participating in digital life more broadly.

Pediatricians call for tougher rules to protect children online

Pediatricians in Germany are making a similar case for tougher regulation. Jakob Maske, a spokesman for the professional association of pediatricians, or BVKJ, said the evidence concerning the adverse effects of social media on young people’s health and cognitive abilities was already sufficient to justify government intervention. Germany, he argued, has the ability to establish national requirements for platforms, with Britain providing an example of how such rules could be pursued. Existing proposals, he said, should move forward despite the influence and resistance of major technology companies.

Maske said the consequences of intensive digital use were becoming increasingly visible in his medical practice. Children, he said, were finding it harder to escape the powerful influence exerted by digital platforms, while teenagers were facing growing difficulty in developing independent opinions. At the same time, risky patterns of screen use were increasing. Smartphones and tablets have also become common among very young children, Maske noted, attributing part of the problem to inadequate parental supervision. Yet he maintained that policymakers could not simply leave families to confront the risks on their own, particularly when many of the relevant features and incentives are built into the platforms themselves.

Particular concern surrounds platforms and games where children can encounter inappropriate or unexpected material. Maske cited Roblox as an example of an environment in which young users could potentially gain access to content that even adults might consider unsuitable. Against that backdrop, the BVKJ has become open to restricting social-media access for children under 14, although Maske acknowledged that such a measure would not by itself guarantee compliance. Experience in Australia, he said, indicated that many teenagers could find ways around restrictions, while security settings on smartphones could likewise be circumvented by sufficiently resourceful users. The broader solution, he argued, would ultimately require stricter obligations on the companies operating the platforms.

Meanwhile, constitutional scholar Frauke Brosius-Gersdorf has refined her proposal for a new form of media oversight while preparing additional recommendations. Her focus is the protection of personality rights against defamatory or otherwise damaging statements in digital media, particularly on social networks. Although the European Union’s Digital Services Act already provides mechanisms for addressing certain platform-related violations, she argued that individual rights nevertheless remain insufficiently protected online. The issue, in her view, is not simply whether procedures exist but whether they provide effective protection when personal rights are violated in practice.

Brosius-Gersdorf proposed an autonomous administrative supervisory system that could initiate action independently when personality rights are infringed. She stressed that such oversight should not amount to direct state or government control and could instead be carried out at arm’s length by Germany’s state media authorities. Amendments to the Interstate Media Treaty, she suggested, could give those organizations the authority to impose appropriate sanctions for violations occurring in digital media and on online platforms. Her forthcoming book, Wahl und Wahrheit, scheduled for publication on 1 September, is expected to contain further proposals concerning protection of personality rights online and the quality of public debate. Brosius-Gersdorf also rejected what she regarded as an inaccurate interpretation of earlier comments, arguing that the controversy that followed had misunderstood the character and purpose of her proposed oversight system.

AI is giving criminals an edge as defenders are adapting

The discussion over safer digital environments extends beyond children and social-media use to the growing role of artificial intelligence in cyberattacks against businesses and government institutions. At the presentation of the 2026 Economic Security Study in Berlin, Sinan Selen, president of Germany’s domestic intelligence agency’s cyber and economic-security apparatus, said AI was substantially expanding the threat landscape. Cyberattacks were increasing both in frequency and sophistication, he said, while the growing use of adaptive techniques was making attacks more difficult and time-consuming to identify.

Selen cited an attack originating in China that he said had been conducted entirely through AI-generated techniques. The significance of the case, he suggested, extended beyond China because increasingly capable AI tools are now widely available. As a result, similar capabilities could be expected elsewhere. Social engineering is also becoming more sophisticated, with AI allowing phishing operations to be tailored more precisely to individual targets while reducing the errors that can reveal fraudulent activity. Selen’s assessment was that these developments remain at an early stage and could represent the beginning of a much broader transformation in the cyber threat environment.

Bitkom President Ralf Wintergerst described a shifting pattern of cyber risks, with ransomware attacks declining while deepfakes and robocalls were becoming more prevalent. Businesses are consequently adjusting their defensive strategies as AI systems themselves acquire capabilities that could be used to conduct attacks. Wintergerst said companies remained largely in an experimental phase when it came to practical AI deployment, while the use of AI to defend against AI-enabled attacks was only beginning to develop. The pace of change is placing new demands on corporate security departments and, in turn, creating demand for services that can reliably examine and test business software.

Companies press for stronger defenses against AI-driven cyberattacks

More than 100 international companies have meanwhile called for stronger defenses against cyberattacks driven by artificial intelligence. The signatories include banks, insurers, computer manufacturers and software companies such as Microsoft, Anthropic, OpenAI and ProphetAI. They warned that increasingly capable AI models could heighten the vulnerability of hospitals, water systems and other critical infrastructure to attack. Their recommendations call for existing computer systems to be examined rapidly for weaknesses, while security teams responsible for critical infrastructure should receive stronger staffing, technical capabilities and financial resources. The companies also urged broader deployment of AI-based technologies to help detect and counter cyberattacks.

The appeal follows several recent security incidents involving AI companies, including reported cases in which AI systems compromised external computer systems. The incidents have added urgency to concerns that defensive capabilities may not be developing as quickly as offensive ones, particularly as increasingly sophisticated AI tools become accessible to a wider range of actors.

Laguna, head of Germany’s Federal Agency for Disruptive Innovation, meanwhile expressed confidence that Germany can narrow its international gap in artificial intelligence. He said the federal government had increasingly recognized AI’s strategic importance, while Germany already possessed substantial strengths in research and invention. The challenge, he argued, comes when successful companies leave the country after developing promising technologies. Greater public support and improved financing opportunities could help keep such businesses in Germany and strengthen the country’s position in a rapidly developing sector.

Laguna nevertheless considered overtaking the United States and China unrealistic in the near term. Rather than attempting to match those countries directly, he argued, Germany should seek advantages through new innovations. Maintaining a strong position in AI development also has a strategic dimension, he said, because technological capabilities are increasingly connected to national security. Germany’s Federal Agency for Disruptive Innovation is intended to support technologies that carry substantial economic risks but could prove highly successful, particularly projects that conventional funding programs might otherwise overlook.

The effort to strengthen Germany’s technological infrastructure is also reflected in major private-sector investment. The Schwarz Group, parent company of Lidl and Kaufland, plans to invest 5.6 billion euros in a data center near Dummerstorf, outside Rostock. The facility is expected to reach a capacity of 240 megawatts by 2033. Company executive Chrzanowski said the investment was intended to strengthen digital sovereignty and reduce dependence on international technology companies.

The Schwarz Group is already building a data center of comparable scale in Brandenburg, where investment is expected to total 11 billion euros. The projects form part of the group’s broader expansion beyond retail: Schwarz has also developed a substantial technology business providing services including cloud computing and cybersecurity. Together, the investments underscore the growing importance Germany places on domestic digital infrastructure as it seeks to expand its role in artificial intelligence while addressing the security risks accompanying that expansion.