Responsible business practices at dpa

dpa is Germany’s largest news agency with a powerful journalistic influence on many newsrooms. The agency indirectly reaches millions of people every day with its content. This comes with a special respon­sibility: towards society, but also towards journalism as a whole and towards the approximately 1,300 people who work at dpa. “Prosperity” – that is, responsible business practices – is one of the company’s key driv­ing forces.

The #UseTheNews news literacy initiative clearly demonstrates dpa’s responsibility towards society and, in particular, towards young people. As a non-profit limited company, #UseTheNews has organised numerous so-called “newscamps” in collaboration with partners from the media and civil society. The aim: to engage with young people on the topics of news and journalism. This also includes raising awareness about the dangers of disinformation. One of the key priorities in 2025 was the establishment of a Competence Center Young Audiences (CCYA) with the aim of bridging the gap between the news media and the next generation, the latter being character­ised by an intensive use of social media.

The “Projekt Zuversicht” is also worth mentioning in this context. Here, #UseTheNews is working alongside Initiative18 and the mar­ket and media research agency rheingold salon. After the initiators explored the root causes of the loss of trust in democracy and its institutions in a comprehensive study, ideas for a new beginning were developed through various event formats and a creativity competition. The focus was on ways to enable citizens to regain a greater sense of self-efficacy and participation.

In addition to its social responsibility, dpa aims to provide a meaningful and sustainable working environment for its own employees. This also includes the field of artificial intelligence. dpa makes extensive use of the technology to develop new products and services for its customers. Responsible use of AI is a fundamental requirement, laid down in bind­ing AI guidelines. Among other things, these guidelines stipulate that no content created with the support of artificial intelligence may be delivered without human oversight and the four-eyes principle. At dpa, innovations are always developed and implemented in line with transparency and factual accuracy – as is the case, for example, with the widely noted AI Research assistant.

dpa is continuing to base its business activities on the medium-term strategy “Adapt to Grow”. The focus is on expanding the dpa group into a dynamic information and communication network. This includes the expansion of multimedia and verified content, the promotion of data literacy and the provision of new consultancy services.

dpa is continuing to implement the Supply Chain Due Diligence Act (LkSG), which has been in force since 2024. A policy statement that bindingly regulates dpa’s responsibility for respecting human rights and protecting the environment remains in effect. Complaints of any kind can be submitted by employees and external parties via a dedicated portal on the dpa website.

Information security also remains a top priority at dpa. The continuous development of protective measures strengthens the agency’s resilience and future viability. This includes, among other things, regular risk analyses and security audits, as well as contingency planning and conducting realistic crisis simulations.