Germany

Q1. Have the Member States reviewed their legislation, policies and learning frameworks to ensure that they are aligned with the recommendations, principles and guidance?

The German Digital Services Act 2024, which adapts German law to EU’s Digital Services Act (DSA) and creates the official structure required for the DSA in Germany, came into force on 14 May 2024. It aims to protect its citizens online. One of the measures in this law is to ban targeted advertisements based on sensitive personal data and protecting young people online. This law integrates some guiding principles of the recommendation such as reliable information, secure technical infrastructure and transparent system for citizens to practice their rights.
Germany Digital Strategy Creating Digital Values Together 2022. This strategy aims to guide Germany’s digital transformation fostering digital skills and ensuring secure and inclusive digital participation across society, the economy, and government. One of the actions in the strategy is building a digital civil society through funding programs, initiatives, projects, democratic participation, digital sovereignty, and peaceful coexistence as well addressing risks of digital platforms such as hate speech, disinformation, and digital violence.
Youth Protection Act (Jugendschutzgesetz, JuSchG) 2021 aims to safeguard children and adolescents from online harm by addressing issues like cyber-grooming and cyber-bullying. It mandates online services to implement protective measures, updates age classifications for media, and establishes the Federal Authority for Protecting Children and Adolescents in the Media to oversee compliance and promote coordination among stakeholders. The law also aligns with international standards, emphasizing participation, empowerment, and protection of minors in the digital environment. According to the Youth Protection Act and now the DSA, providers must introduce risk mitigation measures to better protect children and young people. Furthermore, age rating for games and films was developed. Interaction risks, such as cyberbullying, can now also be taken into account for the age rating. In Germany, responsibility for education, science, and culture rests with the German Länder (federal states), coordinated through the Standing Conference of the Ministers of Education and Cultural Affairs (KMK). Key policies and strategies relevant to digital citizenship education (DCE) include:
Education in the Digital World Strategy (2016, updated 2017): it provides a framework for integrating digital education into curricula, with a focus on fostering media education and digital skills in the classroom. Regular curriculum reviews by the Länder ensure alignment with these goals.
Recommendation ‘Teaching and Learning in the Digital World Recommendation’ (2021) expands on the 2017 strategy, focusing on the school sector. It emphasizes teaching critical media competence alongside digital skills.
KMK Resolution ‘Democracy as Objective, Subject, and Practice’ (2009, updated 2018), integrates democracy education with digitisation by emphasizing critical media competence.

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Q2. Have the Member States promoted the implementation of the Recommendation in formal, non-formal and informal education settings?

1. The German Digital Services Act 2024 was approved by the German Federal Cabinet: No information was found

2. Germany Digital Strategy Creating Digital Values Together 2022. Live Democracy! a German government program to combat hate speech online. The German federal government also plans to enact the Act against Digital Violence. It establishes a legal framework for electronic reporting procedures and private proceedings, enabling account blocking by judicial order.

3. Youth Protection Act (Jugendschutzgesetz, JuSchG): In 2021 the Federal Review Board for Media Harmful to Minors (Bundesprüfstelle für jugendgefährdende Medien, BPjM) has become the Federal Agency for child and youth protection in the media (Bundeszentrale für Kinder- und Jugendmedienschutz, BzKJ). At federal level, the BzKJ is designed to promote the further development of child and youth protection in the media. It promotes a joint assumption of responsibility by the state, businesses and civil society. The BzKJ has received financial funding authority and will design this with a focus on child-friendly access to the internet. The new independent Federal Office for the Enforcement of Children’s Rights in digital Services (KidD) since 2024 monitors compliance with key obligations for providers of digital services under the DSA. This includes the obligation for providers of online platforms with user-generated content (esp. social media) to provide precautionary measures (e.g. reporting and help systems, AVS and child-friendly TOS) for the protection of minors. Finally, film and gaming platforms that offer a complete range of content are obliged to label all content with an age rating, which is also supervised by KidD. KidD is located under the umbrella of the BzKJ. The BzKJ and the Federal Ministry for Family Affairs, Senior Citizens, Women and Youth (BMFSFJ) work closely together.

4. Digital Summit: An annual event organised by the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy to discuss the progress and future steps of digitalisation, involving policymakers, industry leaders, and the public. The summit aims to raise awareness and foster collaboration on digital transformation initiatives. On Safer Internet Day 2018, klicksafe released new educational materials titled “Selfies, Sexting, Selbstdarstellung” (Selfies, Sexting, Self-portrayal), aimed at educating students about online behavior and safety.

5. Other initiatives/awareness raising activities:

a) The events of The German Safer Internet Centre (SIC). The German Safer Internet Centre, through its Awareness Centre klicksafe, organized more than 220 events across Germany for Safer Internet Day (SID) 2018. These events focused on topics such as cyber grooming, sexting, fake news, online privacy, hate speech, and artificial intelligence.

b) Media passports (Medienpass). These are six teaching modules that allow teachers to accompany children and young people on their journey through the digital world and teach them how to use digital services and information in a socially responsible and competent manner.

c) ‘Growing Up Well with media’ (“Gutes Aufwachsen mit Medien”) is a nationwide initiative in Germany from the BMFSFJ aimed at promoting safe, responsible, and self-determined use of digital media among children and adolescents. The project provides practical guidance, support, and training for parents, educators, and young people to navigate the digital world effectively, including:

– “SCHAU HIN! What your child does with media.” (SCHAU HIN! Was Dein Kind mit Medien macht.) a media guide that supports parents and educators with age-appropriate and up-to-date recommendations suitable for everyday use.

– The Association for Media Education and Communication Culture (Gesellschaft für Medienpädagogik und Kommunikationskultur, GMK) is the largest media education umbrella and professional association and is committed to promoting media education and media literacy in science and practice as well as for all people along the education chain throughout Germany.

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Q3. Have the Member States assessed the impact of the legislation and policies implementing the Recommendation at regular intervals?

The German Digital Services Act 2024 was approved by the German Federal Cabinet. The Federal Government will evaluate the provisions on the cooperation between the Coordination Office for Digital Services and the competent authorities. It will report the results to the Bundestag.
Germany Digital Strategy Creating Digital Values Together 2022. Monitoring of the Digital Strategy is supported and controlled by a round table of state secretaries chaired by the Federal Ministry for Digital and Transport. The Digital Council has an advisory function. On the basis of a continuous, comprehensive monitoring process, the supporting and steering activities of the round table of state secretaries are prepared and ensured. An independent scientific analysis will evaluate the impact of the strategy and the outcome will be shared with the interested public.
Protection Minors Act 2021: Section 29b of the JuSchG stipulates that after three years, the BMFSFJ shall examine “the extent to which the protection goals laid down in Section 10a have been achieved. The Federal Government shall inform the German Bundestag of the results of the evaluation.” In order to be able to include the changes made by the DSA in the evaluation, the deadline was extended to 5 years (1 May 2026) by the DSA. The changes that were made to the JuSchG in May 2024 as a result of the DSA and the DSA will also be evaluated.
The KMK Committee ‘Education in the Digital World’ oversees the implementation of the strategy ‘Education in the Digital World’ and the supplementary recommendation ‘Teaching and Learning in the Digital World’. This committee serves as the central authority for all matters related to the digitalisation of education.The committee presents an annual progress report to evaluate the implementation of these strategies across the German Länder. The most recent report (2022-2023) outlines advancements and provides updates on the strategies’ outcomes.

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Q4. Have the relevant stakeholders been involved in the design of DCE legislation and policies at the country level?

German Digital Services Act 2024 was approved by the German Federal Cabine: Federal Government and Federal Ministries designed the Act.
Germany Digital Strategy Creating Digital Values Together 2022: Stakeholders involved in design were Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action (BMWK), Federal Ministry of Finance (BMF), Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF)
Youth Protection Act (JuSchG) 2021: Stakeholders were involved in design in the course of the legislative process with the usual participation of the federal states and associations by BMFSFJ.
KMK strategy on ‘Education in the digital world’ and supplementary recommendation on ‘Teaching and learning’: All German Länder were involved in the development of the competency framework and specific recommendations for action on the education of digital skills and abilities among pupils at a technical level and through the participation of other stakeholders relevant to the design of the framework as part of (generally) written consultation procedures. According to the national authorities responding to the online survey, data protection authorities and ministries of education work together in a Data Protection Working Group on data protection issues in the school context.

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Q5. Have the relevant stakeholders been involved in the implementation of DCE legislation and policies?

As school authorities, the municipalities and thus indirectly the schools are involved in the implementation of the KMK strategy. In this context, regular discussions take place between the German Länder and municipal umbrella organisations on the focus of digitalisation.

1. German Digital Services Act 2024 was approved by the German Federal Cabinet: Implementing agencies are Bundesnetzagentur (Federal Network Agency), Federal Commissioner for Data Protection and Freedom of Information, Bundeskriminalamt (Criminal Police Office), Bundeszentrale für Kinder- und Jugendmedienschutz (Federal Office for the Protection of Children and Young People in the Media)

2. Germany Digital Strategy Creating Digital Values Together 2022: Stakeholders involved in implementation were the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action (BMWK), the Federal Ministry of Finance (BMF), the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF), Local governments and Private sector companies.

3. Youth Protection Act 2021: In line with the dialogical approach, the BzKJ is continuing the ZUKUNFTSWERKSTATT discourse format initiated by the former Federal Review Board for Media Harmful to Young Persons (BPjM). Experts regularly come together to support children growing up well with media and to realize children’s rights to protection, empowerment and participation in the digital space. In different formats and geared towards the specialist expertise required in each case, the participants in the community of responsibility for growing up well with media (Section 17a(2)(1) of the JuSchG are brought together in order to jointly realize children’s rights to protection, empowerment and participation with regard to digital media use. This applies in particular to youth protection and assistance, but also to media supervision, providers, media education practice, science as well as children, young people and their parents. With the entry into force of the Second Act Amending the Youth Protection Act on May 1, 2021, the conceptual approach already adopted with the ZUKUNFTSWERKSTATT has received explicit legal parliamentary confirmation.

4.5. KMK strategy on ‘Education in the digital world’ and supplementary recommendation on ‘Teaching and learning’: As school authorities, the municipalities and thus indirectly the schools are involved in the implementation of the KMK strategy. In this context, regular discussions take place between the German Länder and municipal umbrella organisations on the focus of digitalisation.

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Q6. Have the relevant stakeholders been involved in the evaluation of DCE legislation and policies?

German Digital Services Act 2024 was approved by the German Federal Cabinet. Responsible for the assessment are the Bundesnetzagentur (Federal Network Agency), the Federal Commissioner for Data Protection and Freedom of Information, the Bundeskriminalamt (Criminal Police Office).
Germany Digital Strategy Creating Digital Values Together 2022. The monitoring of this strategy is overseen by the Federal Ministry for Digital and Transport. An independent scientific analysis team will evaluate the impact of the Germany Digital Strategy Creating Digital Values Together 2022
Youth Protection Act 2021: In the workshop ZUKUNFTSWERKSTATT of the BzKJ, the participants of the community of responsibility for growing up well with media are brought together in different formats and aligned with the respective professional expertise required in order to jointly realize children’s rights to protection, empowerment and participation with regard to digital media use. The findings and results from the key topics are documented on an ongoing basis.

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Q7. Have the Member States supported the creation of frameworks for cooperation between public, private and civil society actors and education institutions?

The German Federal Ministry of Education and Research allocated 205 million euros (within Germanys recovery and resilience plan – DARP) to fund the establishment of Competence Centres for Digital Education and Digitally Supported Teaching in Schools and Continuing Education. This initiative aims to strengthen the digital skills of teachers and enhance their ability to integrate digital tools into their teaching. These centres collaborate with universities, schools, and educational authorities to enhance digital skills and integrate digital tools into teaching.
Digital Education Initiative (Initiative Digitale Bildung) was launched in 2021 by Chancellor Angela Merkel and Federal Minister of Education and Research Anja Karliczek as a national platform to improve digital competences of its citizens regardless of age. Partners include educational institutions, technology providers, and civil society organizations to improve digital competencies for all age groups.
Federal Agency for Civic Education (Bundeszentrale für politische Bildung, bpb): This agency, under the Federal Ministry of the Interior, is a key institution promoting civic education, including digital citizenship. It provides resources, organizes events, and supports projects to enhance digital literacy and responsible online behaviour among citizens. It works with schools, universities, non-profits, and media organizations to promote civic and digital education.
Digital Pact for Schools (DigitalPakt Schule): Launched by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF), this initiative aims to improve digital infrastructure and facilities in schools. The program involves cooperation with state governments to ensure schools have the necessary technological infrastructure and teacher training for digital education. It involves cooperation between federal and state governments and municipalities as school authorities.
Microsoft’s Digital Civility Index (Germany, Italy, UK). Microsoft collaborates with various stakeholders to implement the Digital Civility Index (DCI), including digital safety organizations, educational institutions, governments, and civil society groups. The aim is to promote safer, more respectful online interactions by engaging with experts and organizations across Europe to boost awareness and education about online civility.
Safer Internet Centre Germany. The centre focuses on creating a safer online environment through education, awareness-raising, and support services.
vhs learning portal promotes a digital learning platform to provide adult learners with free digital learning opportunities in the areas of literacy and primary education as well as German as a second language.
iCE.Lang – Digital Citizenship Education and Foreign Language Learning – is a transnational European Erasmus+ Strategic Partnership (KA 203) project aiming to strengthen the profile of Digital Citizenship Education vis-à-vis Foreign Language Education. Countries part of this initiative are Germany, Ireland, Italy, Latvia and Portugal
There is an intensive exchange with civil society players such as the Forum Bildung Digitalisierung e. V. (Education Digitalisation Forum). The Forum Bildung Digitalisierung is an important partner for the German Länder in the field of digital education (e.g. for joint events) and brings together foundations active in the field of education under one umbrella. A large number of other stakeholders are involved, particularly at Länder level.

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Q8. Have the Member States ensured that the cooperation frameworks between stakeholders align with standards for equitable quality education?

According to the national authorities responding to the online survey, within the framework of the educational sovereignty of the German Länder in the federal system, it is the responsibility of their decision-making processes. Länder-specific standards apply, which are anchored in the school laws of the German Länder.

Q9. Have the Member States been involved in cooperation between the Council of Europe and international organisations in designing and implementing strategies, policies, programmes and research on DCE?

Media literacy expert group (E02541)
Working Group on Digital Education: Learning, Teaching and Assessment (DELTA) (E03787)
Commission Expert group for Digital Education Content (E03942)
Commission Expert Group – Expert group on Safer Internet for Children
Member of the DCE Promoters Network
Networking European Citizenship Education platform – NECE (Germany, France, The Netherlands, Luxembourg, Austria, Belgium, Poland and the Czech Republic).
Global Education Network Europe (GENE)
Member of INHOPE / INSAFE (Centres from BIK+) network
EU Common Values Inclusive Education in France, Germany, Ireland and Italy
Member of GADMO – german/austrian digital media observatory
Member of Commission Working group on Schools

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Additional questions on the DCE Recommendation

Training on DCE to teachers and other professionals:
According to the national authorities responding to the online survey, it is not known to what extent the German Länder or their state institutes offer further training in the concrete field of DCE.

Translation and dissemination of DCE Recommendation:
According to the national authorities responding to the online survey, the German Länder and the federal government were informed about the DCE recommendation during its drafting stage and upon adoption.

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