English Summary

The fair.digital Initiative

Together we can change the status quo of digital business models. That is our mission!

Dangerous Platform Monopolies

“Surveillance capitalism” threatens people’s digital sovereignty and freedom. In recent years, digital platform monopolies have emerged, leading to excessive data collection and to behavioral analysis and manipulation.

fair.digital as a Countermovement

fair.digital is the counter-movement to this “surveillance capitalism”. As representatives of the IT industry, we consider it our duty to offer resistance to this misguided form of the digital world. We oppose Big Brother as a business model.

fair.digital opposes the “surveillance capitalism” with a strict orientation towards principles. A large proportion of European digital products and services are already based on these principles – but they are not yet sufficiently visible in global competition. These principles must come to the foreground.

fair.digital Seal of Quality

This is why fair.digital offers the possibility to award digital products and services with a seal of quality. The seal makes fair offers and their advantages visible to the user, quickly and easily. As a result, both sides profit.

Three fair.digital Principles

fair.digital stands for the fair treatment of users and the promotion of the digital sovereignty of people and companies. Digital products and services certified with fair.digital stand out positively from the market. They are characterized by the fulfillment of three central principles:

Privacy

fair.digital products and services fully and consistently implement the European General Data Protection Regulation (EU GDPR).

Transparency

Data settings and contact options are transparently visible to the user. Terms of use are easy to understand and publicly available.

Fairness

The users’ sovereignty over their personal data is respected. As little user data as possible is collected (data economy) and not passed on without consent.

The fair.digital Manifesto

fair.digital – Digital Must Remain Fair

We know: Data has power – for better or worse. Whoever has power has responsibility. fair.digital providers are aware of this responsibility and are committed to it. Thereby, human dignity is our greatest asset. The providers of fair.digital are guided by this principle.

fair.digital – Digital Sovereignty Comes First

We understand digital sovereignty as self-determination over personal data and as the competence to use digitization in a purposeful way. We reject surveillance, exploitation, manipulation, intransparency, and the creation of dependencies.

fair.digital – Promotion of the Right to Informational Self-Determination

We regard data protection as a modern human right. We support the European Union, which gives the individual the right to decide in principle about the disclosure and use of his or her personal data.

Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights states: “Everyone has the right to respect for his of her private and family life, home and correspondence.” fair.digital demands and promotes the implementation of Article 8 also in the digital world! We support the European basic data protection regulation and are committed to ensuring that corresponding regulations are established and implemented internationally.

fair.digital Seal of Quality – A Small Guidance with a Big Impact

We are convinced that people can change suppliers’ assortments through their buying behavior. That’s why the fair.digital seal of quality will support them in their purchasing decisions. It enables every individual person and every company to make conscious decisions to help creating a future worth living in and shaping products and services offered on the market.

fair.digital – For Our Fellow Human Beings and Our Environment

We know that comprehensive personal freedom and trustworthily networked communities are vital values for stability and peace. fair.digital recognizes digital solutions that promote the digital sovereignty of individuals and communities. Likewise, fair.digital is committed to the conscious, careful, and sustainable use of resources.

fair.digital – A Role Model in a Legal Vacuum

We recognize that digital technology often develops faster than the law. Therefore not everything that is legal is fair and morally legitimate. fair.digital solutions stand for a livable, fair social order, and offer trustworthy, fair solutions for all fellow human beings. We consider it important that users of digital products are informed about the risks.

fair.digital – Community of Values of Future-Shaping Providers

We create a value-driven community of future-shaping providers. The providers strengthen the digital sovereignty of individuals and communities, and make an indispensable contribution to a world worth living in. The fair.digital providers themselves prefer to use fair.digital solutions.

fair.digital – Acting Proactively Together

We are convinced that we must take it into our own hands to change the world through our behavior. We believe that together we can make the world a better place for the future. fair.digital demonstrates new “we” qualities that create success stories and confidence in the future through joint action.

 

About Us

fair.digital is an initiative of fair.digital e.V. in cooperation with its partners.

Initiators

fair.digital is managed by the board of its initiators:

  • Andera Gadeib (deputy chairman of the board)
  • Prof. Alexander Mädche (deputy chairman of the board)
  • Martin Hubschneider (chairman of the board)
  • Prof. Michael Bartsch (member of the board)
  • Dr. Oliver Grün (member of the board)

Supporters

fair.digital is supported by well-known personalities from academia and IT:

  • Prof. Bernhard Kölmel
  • Prof. Irene Bertschek
  • Prof. Peter Liggesmeyer