Fax machines permeate Germany’s business culture. But parliament is ditching them

The CeBit technology fair in Hanover, Germany, March 24, 1990, shows a portable fax machine that weighs 3 kilos (6.6 pounds) and can be connected to any telephone via acoustic couplers. Holger Hollemann/AFP/Getty Images

Holger Hollemann/AFP/Getty Images

BERLIN — The sound of the 1990s still resonates in the German capital. Like techno music, the fax machine remains on trend. According to the latest figures from Germany’s digital industry association, four out of five companies in Europe’s largest economy continue to use fax machines and a third do so frequently or very frequently.

Much as Germany’s reputation for efficiency is regularly