Press

Just like all other areas of life, the Internet is a political space. That is why political decisions are made here every day. We keep hearing about people who were politicized by a simple online petition and realized that they can make a difference if they get involved.

This democratic mechanism cannot be limited to online petition platforms. We notice that many people are made aware of areas that they would never have been interested in before through such “niche topics”. We don’t see anything bad about that – quite the opposite: it is a democratic added value.

Time and again, the development of petitions refutes the blanket criticism of click activism: by creating a petition, spreading the issue and organizing a network. Good petitions require more than just a click.

Data protection is very important to openPetition : We protect the data of our users and let everyone decide for themselves what happens with their own data and whether this person wants to be contacted. This happens before the person signs for the first time. A petition can also be signed if you know someone who has an email address and is allowed to use it. In some households there is only one email address per family. Printable signature sheets can be signed without specifying the email address.

In our privacy policy we transparently explain which data we store and how. The data is stored on servers in Germany. All data protection guidelines comply with the German standard, all domains are encrypted using a security certificate (https) and, if requested, all communication takes place using PGP encryption (end-to-end).

Unlike other platforms, openPetition rarely sends recommendations for individual petitions. Newsletters and donation mailings are sent. Everyone can adjust their notification settings at any time. In addition, petition starters, MPs and supporters receive automated emails based on the status of a petition, provided they have previously agreed to this.

Germany: Article 17 guarantees the right to petition as a fundamental right, without mentioning the word petition itself. The possibility of turning to the relevant authorities as a community is explicitly mentioned. How the community networks before the petition is submitted is not specified. A common way of doing this today is the civil society online collective platforms for petitions. These platforms do not replace the petition committees; on the contrary, they create the technical conditions for collective petitions to be submitted very easily as a community.

Our petitions cover the entire political spectrum. We are often criticized from several sides at the same time that a petition should not be allowed because it contradicts or does not sufficiently correspond to their own ideology. openPetition does not adopt any ideology. We moderate debates and ensure respectful dialogue. On each individual petition page, pro and con arguments are presented side by side, on an equal footing. openPetition represents democratic values and defends our peaceful and free democratic basic order. We want to strengthen our democracy by strengthening the political participation of all social groups and giving them an equal voice.

openPetition calls for more public hearings for those who start petitions. This request does not apply to individual personal concerns. These will not be published on openPetition . Individual concerns of third parties will only be published on openPetition with the consent of the persons concerned. This also applies to the submission of these petitions. We will only submit petitions and publish statements from the respective parliament if this consent to publication has been given.

To ensure the verification of signatures, the signature must be confirmed by sending a confirmation email to the email address provided. Since we do not want to exclude people who are not internet-savvy from political participation, up to five people from one household can sign the petition using the same email address. All other signatures with the same address and the same email address will not be counted. Signatures from multiple email addresses with the same name and address will also not be counted.

Automated signatures from bots are excluded by a captcha that is activated on a case-by-case basis. Paper signatures are legitimized by the scanned signature sheet.

We detect mass abuse based on patterns in IP addresses, email addresses, cookies and the chronological progression of signatures. If too many suspicious signatures are made in a certain period of time, our spam protection is automatically activated. Collecting signatures online is therefore just as safe as collecting signatures on the street.

Forging signatures is a criminal offense (forgery of documents) that can even be punished as (attempted) fraud. Any violation will be reported by us or the person starting the petition.

openPetition has high security standards. By requiring signatories to confirm their signatures by email, it is more difficult for malware to digitally forge petition signatures on a large scale. Signatures are only permitted on openPetition if the signatory signs with their own name and official address. This security measure means that both those starting the petition and those addressed can rely on the number of supporters.

On average, a petition is successful on openPetition every other day. An online collective petition creates public pressure, especially when many signatures are collected and the petition receives media attention. This opens up new avenues and dialogues arise. Often, a request can be resolved before it goes through the official route of one of the petition committees or parliament. In addition, openPetition asks MPs for their opinion in order to promote a transparent dialogue on equal terms.

Our platform is a tool for a vibrant democracy, and as such, many different views can be found here. Anyone can use openPetition as a mouthpiece, regardless of origin or opinion. Our only rule is compliance with our terms of use.

We help those who start petitions and those who support them every day, but we never take their views on board. In our experience, the petitions that get the most attention are those that strike a social nerve and have benefited from the high level of commitment of those who start petitions and those who support them.

The selection of supported petitions is based on the four-eyes principle and the level of commitment of the initiators.

The number of platforms and petitions is increasing, and the openPetition team is aware of this. The increase shows that people have issues that they need support with. Free petition platforms are a supplement to state petitions. openPetition is constantly evolving. Only on openPetition can statements from MPs be requested, arguments exchanged in a debate room, and signatures collected online and offline. Statistics, comments, and petition news make the process transparent and understandable for everyone.

The trend that more and more petitions are being started online since digitalization highlights two facts at once: On the one hand, more and more people are using online petitions as a tool for more participation, and on the other hand, they are using their right to make requests and complaints, or the right to petition.

Through openPetition concerns can be formulated, discussed, signed and disseminated. In addition, citizens can establish the first dialogue with their representatives through statements before submitting the petition.

We cannot and do not want to decide whether a petition request is granted or not. On the contrary: In our online guide we provide information about the various submission processes and refer to the decision-making bodies at local, state, federal and EU levels.

Our terms of use state very clearly: We do not accept advertising. Advertising includes not only commercial companies, but also political parties, associations or foundations.

That may be partly true, but we accept that. A counter question arises: What is relevant for whom? What is relevant for the neighbor? Those who start the petition and their supporters decide what important social issues are where they want to bring about change.

Our editorial team will warn you with a warning bar if a petition does not meet our quality requirements. This happens if one of the following cases applies:

Single petition, duplicate, wrong recipient, statement of fact or legal dispute. Details can be found in openPetition 's petition quality requirements.

Various discussions have shown that petition platforms are often associated with direct democracy. This is a mistake. Petitions - online or offline - can pave the way to direct democratic engagement (e.g. citizens' initiatives), but they are not de facto a direct democratic participation tool.

openPetition believes that direct democracy and referendums are only useful under certain conditions. It is particularly important that there is a broad debate before a vote. Direct democracy only leads to better decisions if people can form a well-founded opinion on an issue.

The work of openPetition is always guided by our values - which include, above all, transparency and neutrality. This naturally also applies to the financial aspects of our work.

We can understand that the financing model of a petition platform that provides virtually all of its functions free of charge raises some questions: Where does the money come from to run the platform and maintain employees, for example? Are there hidden costs? Are there other organizations behind openPetition that want to use their money to support certain political causes?

That's why we don't want to conceal our financial situation, but instead publish information about how openPetition works as well as our income and expenses on our transparency page. In short: openPetition is financed by small donations from our users. There is no financial dependence on other (political) organizations. We are a non-profit organization. Unlike traditional companies, we are not allowed to distribute profits. We are obliged to reinvest all income in our statutory goals. To ensure that this remains the case, we are organized in responsible ownership: a turnaround away from our values and towards profit maximization is therefore impossible.