The new European Commissioner for the Digital Economy & Society has reassured doubters about his credentials by saying he uses the Internet every day.

Germany’s Günther Oettinger will formally become the digital commissioner in November, and also told the Passauer Neue Presse he was even capable of adding appointments to his iPhone calendar all by himself.

Mr Oettinger, who previously held the energy portfolio, also espoused the value the internet brings to the everyday lives of Europeans, describing it as a "relief."

"If I'm searching for information, I look online," he said. "I'm online every day."

Last month Mr Oettinger, 61, made headlines when he said that the stars who found their naked pictures hacked online were “stupid” for sharing them on the internet.

At a European Parliament hearing on the risks the digital world poses to European citizens, the politician said: “If someone is stupid enough as a celebrity to take a nude photo of themselves and put it online, they surely can’t expect us to protect them.”

"Stupidity is something you can only partly save people from," he added.

Now the public has taken to Twitter to discuss the commissioner’s suitability for the position, all collected under the hashtag #OMGoettinger.