Germany’s largest state is abandoning a communication relic.
After Bavaria’s Minister for Digital Affairs Fabian Mehring declared in December that he was planning to ban fax machines in state offices, now — seven months later — this is finally happening.
On Thursday, the ministry announced that since last December, the number of fax machines in administration has been halved from 3,766 to 1,869.
“Fax machines are a relic of the digital Stone Age and do not fit with a modern state in the AI era,” said Mehring, explaining that his “fax ban” is part of a bigger mission: “To create a modern state that meets the people with innovative administration.”
Despite German authorities’ addiction to faxing and the lack of success of previous governments to digitalize German society, the Bavarian fax ban was well received, Mehring said.
“It’s great that even the Bundestag is now following my initiative and that institutions such as the judges’ association are giving me just as much strong support as the civil servants and public service employees in Bavaria,” Mehring wrote on X.
“Together, we will deliver and create a modern state that people will find ‘cool’ again!” he added.
The ministry clarified that the ban will not affect private individuals and companies.
“Those who wish may continue to fax documents to the authorities, which will then be processed completely digitally,” the ministry wrote in a statement.
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