Lower Saxony Plans to Exempt Digital Communications from Archiving Obligation (heise.de)

• Lower Saxony plans to exempt digital communications from archiving duty – a German first.
• Archival law experts warn of threats to transparency and democratic oversight.
• The state has no freedom of information law; a transparency bill is stalled in coalition negotiations.

"The red-green state government of Lower Saxony plans to exempt emails, SMS and messenger chats from the legal obligation to offer them to archives. This would be a nationwide first and has drawn sharp criticism from archival law experts, who fear a loss of transparency and accountability. The draft bill is currently under review by associations. The move aligns with broader efforts in Germany to reduce transparency obligations."