Digital Independence Day
On December 27, 2025, Marc-Uwe Kling presented the idea of the Digital Independence Day (DI.DAY for short) at the 39th Chaos Communication Congress (39C3) and called for participation. The DI.DAY is a monthly day of action for digital independence. Everyone can participate, achieve more digital independence even in small steps and, above all, talk about it to create more public awareness for the topic.
(Note: The linked video clip is in German. The full reading with an English translation is linked below.)
Many regional groups from the CCC community, including the Chaostreff Osnabrück, had already prepared the action days and supported the call at the end of the reading on stage.
The spark was lit: other groups quickly joined in. The CCC Flensburg quickly provided a platform for managing appointments at https://termine.di.day. Since January 4, 2026, the Digital Independence Day has been taking place in many cities in Germany and other countries on the first Sunday of every month.
The full reading is available on media.ccc.de in German and with an English live translation.
The Challenge
Large technology corporations now control large parts of our digital lives:
- They collect massive amounts of data about us
- They influence our perception through their algorithms
- They have enormous power over our lives
This concentration of power is problematic - for our privacy, for democracy and for a free internet.
What can we do?
We urgently need better laws and regulation - but waiting for them is not enough. The good news is that we can all act today. There are free and open alternatives for almost every digital service. It is also particularly important to talk about it! Talk about your successes, whether analog or digital. This is how more people can be reached and political pressure can be built up.
Here are just a few examples of topics where a change is possible:
- Search engines - privacy-friendly, without tracking
- Messenger - with end-to-end encryption
- E-mail, cloud storage, video conferences, browsers
- Shopping - there are countless smaller and larger shops on the internet besides the big providers
Digital Independence Day in Osnabrück
The DI.DAY takes place every first Sunday of the month at the Chaostreff Osnabrück. It is not a lecture and not a structured course - but an open meeting where you can bring your questions and we can see together what suits you.
What you can expect:
- We will answer your questions about digital independence and data protection
- We give tips from our own experience and discuss alternatives with you
- We offer space for exchange with each other
- We pick you up where you are - every small step helps
- You are welcome to bring your own device
The dates for Osnabrück can be found at Events, all DI.DAY offers of all groups at termine.di.day.
Information on how to get there and accessibility can be found at Hackspace.