Bavaria’s current mission: Ban fax machines

The regional government sees this technology as something belonging to the “digital Stone Age”

When the new Bavarian government stepped into office in November 2023 one of its first declared goals was the elimination of fax machines in the public sphere. Yes, you may be surprised to find out that these devices that ruled the communication world in the 1980s are still in use in many places.

The effort is led by the state’s Digital Ministry, which was glad to report that since that initial announcement, the number of fax machines used in government offices has been halved – from 3,766 to 1,869 and the work will continue until there are none to be found. If successful, Bavaria would become the first German state with fax-free government offices.

Fabian Mehring, the Bavarian Digital Minister, doesn’t hide how he feels about fax machines stating that they were "a relic from the digital Stone Age" and that their continuing presence didn’t help the digitalization process, which is quickly entering the Age of AI.

Inspiring other German administrations, too

The initiative is even gaining traction nationwide. The Bundestag also wants to get rid of fax machines, says Mehring, according to BR.de, and is pleased about his pioneering role.

What’s more, the minister wants to inspire Bavarian municipalities to follow suit in that quest. The thing is, the regional government cannot order the local authorities to take that step, however, it plans to incentivize them by providing financial assistance for those who do so.

Not everyone in the Bavarian government is that excited about the initiative though. The CSU party, which is a coalition partner in the cabinet doesn’t see the need to make so much fuss about this since in their opinion fax machines will disappear on their own anyway even if politicians do nothing about that.

The fax ban applies only to government offices and doesn’t concern private citizens.