The number of complaints about illegal content online is on the decline: eco’s Internet Complaint Office registered more than 55,000 complaints in 2011, while there were more than 70,000 in 2010. Users’ most prevailing problem has been unwanted advertising. 94 percent of all complaints were about spam or similar intrusions. Only the remaining six percent were regarding actual domains: illegal content such as child pornography, racist content, or offences against the protection of youths.

Germany's Federal Government has dismissed criticism voiced by opponents of the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) who fear that this treaty will clip the freedom of citizens. Sabine Leutheusser-Schnarrenberger, Federal Minister of Justice, does not share this view. According to her, ACTA does not contain any sort of invitation to change the current legal foundation, in whatever direction. ‘This is why we don't consider it quite as problematic as some initiatives do,’ the minister said. ‘It does not contain the option, for instance, to introduce Internet blocks or access blocks.’

Companies should only be allowed to use cookies if their users have given their consent, says Germany Social Democratic Party (SPD). The party's parliamentary fraction has drafted an amendment to the German Telemedia Act (Telemediengesetz, TMG). It follows an EU guideline on privacy in electronic communications passed in 2008.

Viviane Reding, European Commissioner for Justice, Fundamental Rights and Citizenship, introduced her plan for an overhauled, EU-wide regulation on privacy and data protection. The plans aim to unify regulation within the European Union. Reding’s proposed regulation includes the ‘Right to be Forgotten’, under which individuals would be able to delete personal data if there are no legitimate grounds for retaining them.

A comment on the anti-piracy laws currently discussed in the US, by Oliver Süme, eco Chairman for law and regulation. ‘Piracy must be fought, but not at the sacrifice of freedom of speech, nor market economy. One has to emphasise again and again: blocking the Internet is not the last resort of Internet politics–this would be trivialising the matter.’