Co-funded by the European UnionThe reason for founding an interest group of the - at that time - unimportant and underestimated internet economy was the foundation of the first commercial internet service providers (ISP) in Germany in 1993. In 1995, the "eco forum" was officially noted in the register of associations in Bonn (no VR 6973). Since then, the association has developed and has established itself as an acknowledged organ in politics and economy. Political work already began in 1997 when eco significantly proposed the arrangement of the German Information and Communication Services Act (Informations- und Kommunikationsdienste-Gesetz, IuKDG).
In cooperation with other European pressure groups and supported by the European Commission, the umbrella organisation 'Electronic Commerce Europe' was founded in Brussels in 1998. Eco was also decisively involved in the establishment of other European associations, e.g. EUROISPA and EURO-IX.
Since 1996, eco has organised and overseen the central German internet exchange DE-CIX, which has become one of the most important nodal points in Europe.
Since 1997/98 with the foundation of the InternetContentTaskForce (ICTF) and the foundation of the Voluntary Self-Monitoring of Multimedia Providers (FSM)), eco participates actively in the development of the German system of self-regulation of that industry. Internationally, eco was one of the initiators of ICRA and an original member of INHOPE.
