2025 was a year that reminded us right from the start why epicenter.works exists, but also why we will not run out of work anytime soon. Just after we had taken a breath to look back on 15 years of civil society successes, politics once again made it clear to us how many new challenges it has in store for us. Three coalition negotiations, national government programmes, European legislative packages, omnibuses as far as the eye can see and ever new surveillance fantasies: If you campaign for fundamental digital rights, you currently have no time to rest.

Join us in looking back at the key issues, successes, and ongoing projects that will continue to accompany us beyond this anniversary year.

Happy Birthday, epicenter.works!

2025 was a very special year for us. In February, we celebrated our 15^th anniversary. Epicenter.works was founded (as AK Vorrat) in the wake of the student protests and the occupation of the Audimax lecture hall in order to protest and fight against data retention. Today, we can look back on a success story that began right there.

We didn't want to celebrate this anniversary on our own. Thanks to the support of Stadt Wien - Kultur, we were able to bring together many of our supporters and companions to look back – and forward – together. Diverse groups were present in the audience, from politicians to researchers to nerds. Knowing that people from so many different backgrounds are standing by our side gives us momentum for everything that is yet to come.

To conclude our anniversary year, we looked back with you on 15 highlights from 15 years of epicenter.works.

A Flood of Government Programmes

As much as our anniversary inspired us, political reality didn’t wait to strike back. For years, government programmes have been a kind of work programme for us and a preview of the issues that will particularly concern us in the coming years.

In 2025, we were faced with two possible futures: a leaked negotiation protocol from the FPÖ and ÖVP, which offered a bleak outlook on a possible FPÖVP government, and the government programme ultimately presented by the ÖVP, SPÖ and NEOS, which caused us stomach aches in many areas from the beginning. One of these areas in particular kept us busy throughout the year.

The Return of the Federal Trojan

Since 2016, the ÖVP has been pursuing its surveillance agenda, which we have successfully opposed at every stage: from the initial concept to the draft bill and the final legislation. Although it was successfully challenged before the Constitutional Court in 2018, the SPÖ and NEOS unfortunately relented shortly after forming the government and submitted the Federal Trojan for review. We analysed and classified all the statements. Whether from the Court of Auditors, the Data Protection Authority, the Austrian Bar Association or even the Vienna Provincial Government, the conclusion is clear: 96% are negative. The media response was also overwhelming; we were even able to warn against state spyware on TV in the newscast ZIB2. Despite the massive headwinds, the government passed the Federal Trojan on 9 July. But one thing is clear: the law is still a long way from coming into force, so there is still time to fight back. And we have already succeeded in doing so once before with a law that had been passed.

The Salami Tactic of National Surveillance

In 2011, following an act of violence, the then Prime Minister of Norway, Jens Stoltenberg, said:
‘The Norwegian response to violence is more democracy, more openness and greater political participation.’

On the contrary, the Austrian response in 2025 was too often: more surveillance.

In addition to the federal trojan, Interior Minister Karner announced on a Sunday during the summer recess that video surveillance in Austria would be increased fivefold; without public debate, without scientific basis, without comprehensible justification.

In autumn, Transport Minister Hanke followed suit and brought inner-city surveillance back to the table: with live access for the police, no protection for demonstrations and costs in the tens of millions.

Our response was clear: we will take to the streets.

Such measures are gradually restricting our fundamental rights. There is therefore an urgent need for an overall assessment of surveillance: laws must be evaluated, their impact measured, and unnecessary surveillance measures abolished.

Missed Opportunity: IT Security

Last year, the implementation of the NIS2 Directive cost us a lot of work – but it was worth it: a problematic draft was not adopted. With good implementation, Austria's cyber security could finally be made fit for the future. It was all the more sobering to see an almost identical law passed in the National Council towards the end of the year. The difference this time: the SPÖ and NEOS are supporting it. A ‘botched job’ has become a government bill.

Knowledge & Tools Freely Available

In 2025, we once again developed tools, processed knowledge and made it freely accessible to all.

DearMEP
DearMEP is our freely licensed tool that campaigns can use to target those MEPs who are most likely to be persuaded. This year, we finally saw it back in action around the debate on the Supply Chain Act, one of the current omnibus bills (more on that later). 

E-learning
In addition to the continuously growing epicenter.academy, we published new e-learning materials with videos on digital public infrastructure because basic public infrastructures such as identity and payment systems or data platforms are increasingly shaping our daily lives. Naturally, everything is free of charge and freely licensed.

whoidentifies.me
For years, we have been working on the regulatory framework for the European Digital Identity (eIDAS). With the adopted law in mind, we are now working on a new tool that makes visible who is accessing which government-verified data: ‘whoidentifies.me’. The aim is to provide NGOs with an early warning system for problematic developments. We will go live with it in 2026 – we can hardly wait.

epicenter.works vs Deutsche Telekom

The Netzbremse campaign was one of the biggest this year. For years, Deutsche Telekom has been exploiting its market power, creating artificial bottlenecks and charging twice – from content providers and end customers. Together with the Federation of German Consumer Organisations, the Society for Civil Rights and Stanford professor Barbara van Schewick, we submitted a 200-page complaint to the Federal Network Agency.

Since the launch at 38C3, we have been overwhelmed with encouragement and support. The attention went so far that we met with Telekom at re:publica for a public debate. We were able to present the campaign at Denog17, and we held another workshop on the topic at 39C3. All information is always available at netzbremse.de.

Europe's Major Digital Challenges

At the European level, too, politics had us firmly in its grip in 2025. At the beginning of the year, we analysed the eIDAS amendment for the implementation of the European digital identity, particularly with regard to security, data protection, and the impact on existing systems such as ID Austria. At the same time, we developed the above-mentioned transparency tool whoidentifies.me.

In addition to the European digital identity, we supported the Digital Fairness Act. In the Call for Evidence on the Digital Fairness Act, we called for greater responsibility for online platforms, particularly with regard to the protection of vulnerable groups such as minors.

The discussion on the digital euro picked up momentum again after a long pause. We continued to advocate for a data protection and privacy-friendly design – also against the backdrop of studies by the European Central Bank, which attach great importance to privacy. 

We also participated in the Call for Evidence on the Digital Networks Act and opposed plans that could jeopardise net neutrality through legislative changes. 

Towards the end of the year, the EU Commission launched another sweeping attack under the guise of ‘simplification’. The Digital Omnibus was intended to weaken existing protection standards – from the GDPR to the AI Act to key digital regulations. This development tied up considerable resources and highlighted the fragility of fundamental digital rights at European level.

The issue of age verification was also discussed intensively. Against this backdrop, we developed our own proposal aimed at reconciling the protection of minors with digital participation and fundamental rights.

Finally, the so-called chat control remained a key issue. Despite revisions, the proposal continues to contain problematic clauses. Yet it is still pushed forward by EU Member States. In our view, it would ultimately amount to a form of mass surveillance of private communications – accordingly, we are campaigning to ensure that it does not become part of EU law.

AI Goes Austria

Artificial intelligence, with all its advantages and risks, has long since become part of everyday life. However, the Austrian federal government has been in default to implement the European AI Act, which means that there is currently no competent authority to review the use of AI for compliance with human rights and fundamental rights. We therefore took the initiative ourselves and filed a complaint with the data protection authority against the use of facial recognition software by the Austrian police. We are helping a young climate activist who was affected by what we consider to be the unlawful use of AI. 

At the same time, we believe that Europe has a clear responsibility when it comes to AI and, together with international partner organisations, we have called on Digital Commissioner Henna Virkkunen and the governments of the member states to keep the implementation of the AI Act on track.

A New Fundamental Right for Austria

It became official on 1 September: official secrecy is history. With the Freedom of Information Act coming into force, public authorities are now obliged to provide information. Even though some ministries immediately attempted to undermine this new fundamental right, we have summarised how you can make use of it. After all, transparency can only be achieved if we actively exercise this right.

Democracy Index 2025

Together with other organisations, we have once again calculated the Democracy Index for Austria for 2025. Despite the new fundamental right to information, Austria has continued to decline overall. In the digital sector in particular, the federal trojan and surveillance projects led to a decline of 0.6 percentage points. We presented the results at a press conference.

Data Protection vs Republic of Austria 

This year, the data protection authority announced almost casually in its newsletter that it would be severely restricting its activities due to budget cuts. We were alarmed by the increasing workload and, together with noyb, filed a complaint with the European Commission against the Republic of Austria. It remains to be seen whether this will lead to infringement proceedings.

Our epicenter.academy

Our epicenter.academy was also more active than ever in 2025: We organized 190 workshops, reached over 3,500 people, and designed a completely new workshop concept on artificial intelligence and how companies can implement the requirements of the AI Act. We are also particularly proud of the materials on digital violence protection that we have developed in collaboration with women's shelters and counselling centres and can make available to you free of charge.

UN Cybercrime Convention: Boundless Human Rights Violations

We have been accompanying the negotiations on the UN Cybercrime Convention since 2017. In 2025, the work began with a speech before the United Nations, but ended on a sobering note: at the end of October, over 70 countries signed the human-rights-hostile international treaty. Despite final warnings in a joint statement, the convention allows for far-reaching surveillance, offers little protection for human rights and endangers journalists, activists, and critical voices worldwide.

We Can't Do It Without You.

Last year, we hosted epicenter.connect 12 times. In 2025, this was not only digitally, but also at our office. We always enjoy getting to know our supporters in person. If you want to join us in 2026, you can find the dates on our website as always. We are looking forward to seeing you!