Foreword by Prof. Dr. Roman Herzog, German President (Ret), DIVSI Patron

Prof. Dr. Roman Herzog, Patron of Deutsches Instituts für Vertrauen und Sicherheit im Internet (DIVSI)

When I agreed to become the patron for DIVSI in November 2012, I spoke during a Senate reception in the Hamburg Town Hall and addressed some of the burning issues raised for us all by the Internet. At that time, I noted the positive opportunities offered to us by the digital age, but also pointed out that their exploitation to the benefit of all will not be possible unless the unresolved questions are answered.

It seems to me that the experts have everything well under control in strictly technical terms, even though there will certainly always be something new, something surprising.

So what are the issues which must still be clarified? I made a clear statement of my position during this talk in the Hamburg Town Hall. There is little doubt that the course my life has taken inevitably leads me to a consideration of the constitutional questions raised by the subject. I am not claiming that the problems under discussion here revolve first and foremost around legal questions. But my experience has taught me that considerable progress can be made in answering the questions of ethics facing us today if we constantly remind ourselves to look over at our neighbours in constitutional law and listen to what they are saying.

I feel sure that questions of ethics will play an increasingly significant role in our digital age. Questions which virtually no one thought about at the beginning of the Internet age.

One of the tasks of the Deutsches Institut für Vertrauen und Sicherheit im Internet is to provide facts and background information based on generally accepted academic methodology. In the ideal case, the institute initiates interdisciplinary discussions which should ultimately come to conclusions with a common goal: ensuring that the positive aspects of the Internet can be used by everyone easily and without fear.

There is no question that the Decision-Maker Study presented here will prompt us to think in a number of directions. It will also encourage us to consider social and ethical questions from completely new angles. For the first time, and in a clarity never seen before, we can trace a possible socio-political upheaval in the results. This is for me one of the most fundamental revelations of this Decision-Maker Study.

One of the conclusions of this carefully prepared study is a source of major concern to me, namely: the Digital Vanguard among the decision-makers – the up and coming elite class of our country – displays the least trust of all of the study participants in our political system and even in the rule of law itself. This may be an indication of a growing disassociation from a state ruled by law and the guarantees given by the state.

What does this mean for our country and for the future of all of us? After all, the group of Digital Vanguard is the avantgarde among leaders. Is it possible that this natural process is steering us in the direction of a general crisis of confidence?

I do not intend to philosophise any further about this tendency revealed here in the study; I simply want to warn against dismissing it without a second thought. Discerning and describing a possible development is never anything more than the first step. We need to have trust in our political system, our state. I urge the people who bear responsibility for this system to take the findings of this study seriously.

I believe the study uncovers another tendency: our tonality, our interaction, our trust in one another appear to be suffering from increasingly greater strain. Blame and accusations are hurled back and forth, there is little faith that anyone – but especially politicians – will effect change for the better. The In- ternet illiterate are compared to Neanderthals.

I would like to see the focus shifted more to the community, the human aspects. Even – especially – in the Internet age. If we do not want to throw away the trust in the Internet, in the chances and opportunities it offers, we need a general discus- sion about the rules of the game that should be binding on us all. We need guide rails to keep us on the right path. A digital codex, honoured by all who bear responsibility, could be one possible route in this direction.

In any case, the Decision-Maker Study is highly suitable to initiate new discussions, as was the intention of DIVSI. Important issues of our time, empirically sound, have been put on the table. Let us accept the task – let us find answers!