Quantum technologies are expected to shape digital security, medical diagnostics and critical infrastructure in the coming years. For this reason, the EU plans to present new legislation in 2026, the EU Quantum Act. Its stated aims are to promote research, accelerate the transition from the laboratory to market-ready products, and secure supply chains. Until 15 December, citizens, organisations and companies were invited to submit their experiences with quantum technologies as well as proposals and demands regarding the planned legislation to the Commission.
The Center for Digital Rights and Democracy also submitted a position paper. Our central demand is clear. The Quantum Act must not become a purely economic growth agenda. It must take the welfare of citizens and society as its guiding benchmark.
Quantum technology. A future technology of the present
Quantum technologies use physical rules at the atomic level, known as quantum mechanical effects, to measure and process information. They enable new applications in metrology, secure communications, imaging and complex computations. In short, quantum technologies can address problems where classical technologies reach their limits.
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Compared to classical computers, quantum computers can, for example, process data faster, solve certain problems more effectively and perform calculations for which other computing methods fail.
Quantum sensing allows phenomena such as time, fields and acceleration to be measured with extremely high precision. This technology is used in particular for navigation as well as in geophysics and medicine.
Quantum communication relies on novel encryption technologies. These can make digital communication via email and messaging services, as well as the uploading of data to cloud servers, more secure, which is why states have a particular interest in their development.
Most quantum technologies are still primarily used in research to investigate problems in physics, chemistry and mathematics, and above all to learn how to build quantum computers that are stable and reliable.
The EU Quantum Act should be oriented toward the public interest
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Like any technology, quantum technology has the potential to support societal progress, but also to entrench existing inequalities and create new challenges. Its societal impacts will depend on how public authorities, scientific institutions and economic actors shape access, use and control. For this reason, it is particularly important during the development of the legislation to take unequal access, gaps in responsibility and threats to information security into account. The EU must not merely invest funds in quantum products. It must establish clear rules. Who is allowed to develop and deploy which technologies? Who is liable in the event of harm? Which applications are prohibited? And how can it be ensured that, in the end, only a few corporations do not disproportionately benefit?
At this point, however, the European Union is already failing to meet this responsibility. The EU Quantum Strategy published this year serves as the basis for a legislative proposal. It is almost exclusively industry-oriented. In the official strategy document, citizens are not mentioned at all, while companies are mentioned 19 times and industry 24 times. This omission points to a structural imbalance that risks being entrenched in the forthcoming regulation. Quantum technologies are primarily presented as drivers of economic growth, rather than as transformative socio-technical systems with implications for fundamental rights, democratic structures and social fairness.
Innovation is desirable above all when it advances society as a whole and serves the public interest, rather than predominantly the commercial interests of a limited number of actors. European quantum policy should be aligned with this objective.
The first step was skipped. Educating the public
Quantum technology may have made significant advances in recent decades. However, awareness of these developments is largely limited to those who have informed themselves out of professional or personal interest, which likely applies to only a small part of the population. This makes it all the more important to educate citizens, policymakers and business actors about these technologies. The focus should not be solely on the physics underlying the technology, but rather on functional knowledge about potential use cases and concrete impacts on everyday life. To enable informed participation and sustained public oversight of quantum policy decisions, policymakers must establish educational formats comparable to initiatives such as Elements of AI. These offerings must be accessible and easy to understand. Ideally, they would have been in place before the call for civil society submissions.
Our full position on the EU Quantum Act can be found HERE. We will continue to follow the legislative process and provide information on this topic.
For further questions, please contact Ramak Molavi Vasse’i, Head of Advocacy, at ramak.molavi@digitalrechte.de
Digital rights need a strong voice — your support helps make it heard.
As a non-profit organisation, we rely on donations to fund our work. Help us curb abuses of power and strengthen digital sovereignty.