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Join HADOPI survey on copyright law changes

Wednesday, May 2nd, 2012

(voir aussi en français)

In digital communities, the word ‘Hadopi’ generates a fierce debate. But ‘Hadopi‘ is not only the name of a controversial law – it is the name a French independent public authority that also works to to spread legal online content. And growing the amount of legal content online is something we can all support.

In this context, I discovered with pleasure that Hadopi is undertaking a significant survey. Any French citizen – not just businesses or artists – can give their opinions on what exceptions should exist under French copyright law to take account of the ongoing digital revolution. (This work is led by Jacques Toubon, who also has excellent ideas on fair tax treatment for eBooks). Read the full entry

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Latest developments on media freedom in Hungary

Wednesday, January 25th, 2012
Vaire Vika Freiberga

Vaire Vika Freiberga, photo under CC license by Aivis Freidenfelds

I am on my way to the World Economic Forum in Davos where I will present my plans for setting up the European Cloud Partnership – but more on that in the coming days.

I first wanted to share the latest news with you regarding the situation of media freedom and pluralism in Hungary. Yesterday I met with the CEO of Klubradio, a radio station in Hungary with a lot of often quite critical political commentary. He told me that they have lost 8 local frequencies in 2011 alone (as and when their previous rights expired, and that a new frequency assignment to Klubradio last year for the key Budapest region had been retracted by the incoming Media Council) – isn’t that worrying?  It seems that high music content has been given priority over political commentary and discussion in the latest tender for Budapest. EU Member States have a wide discretion in setting the conditions for open tenders for radio frequency, so this trend has to be carefully examined. However, I have written to the Deputy Prime Minister of Hungary last week to ask for clarifications on the overall situation.

Today, the independent high-level group on freedom and pluralism of the media – that I had set up in October last year – met for the second time. You might recall that I had asked the group to draw up a report for the Commission with recommendations for the respect, protection, support and promotion of pluralism and freedom of the media in Europe by the end of this year. They discussed the situation in Hungary (as well as other Member States – such as Italy and France) and were given a presentation by an expert on the Assessment of the Consistency of Hungary’s Media Laws with European Practices and Norms. For instance, the study notes that the Hungarian media authority has a concentration of powers unique across Europe.  I can highly recommend that study if you want to learn more on this issue.

In the press conference after the meeting, the chair of the group, Prof. Vaira Vike-Freiberga (former President of Latvia) stated that Hungary had put itself in a position of potential danger to media freedom and the Government would be wise to consider how to get out of it. You can listen to the parts of the press conference here and here.

Lastly, on Friday, I will sit on a panel in a discussion titled “Leadership in the Information Age” in Davos with Mr Thorbjørn Jagland, the Secretary-General of the Council of Europe (the body responsible for the European Convention on Human Rights which has helped protect us since 1953.) He and his colleague Thomas Hammarberg, the Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights, are quite crucial in protecting the media freedom in Hungary and across Europe – therefore I am very keen to discuss current risks and challenges to media freedom with him and how we can further improve our cooperation in the future. I will keep you updated.

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2012: a year to help people stay active and healthy for longer

Wednesday, January 18th, 2012

2012 Is the European year of Active Ageing and solidarity between generations – launched today.

It couldn’t come at more important moment. Today most of us realise that staying active is the key to a healthy life. And I, for one, am proof that you can enjoy leading a full life at the age of 70. I believe that we should be allowed to continue being active long after official retirement age – and I think I’m not the only one. And it doesn’t have to mean paid work – it can also be volunteering, helping out in the community or pursuing a hobby – whatever it is, staying active means you are more likely to stay healthy and independent for longer. Read the full entry

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Cloud Computing and Data protection reform

Friday, January 13th, 2012
Data protection rules have big impacts on cloud computing

Credit kexino.com, creative commons license

One of the big topics as we head into 2012 is definitely protection of personal data. The Commission will propose a reform of the current 15-year-old framework in a few weeks. The main issues were already clearly flagged in the Commission communication just over a year ago. My colleague Viviane Reding has spoken about this already a lot in the past few months, setting out her thinking on a number of concrete elements that will be put forward, such as harmonising and better enforcing rules across the EU. From the Digital Agenda perspective, I’m working very closely with Viviane on this, for two reasons:

First, because data protection is an important part of wider cloud computing issues. After 12 months of intensive discussions and consultations, I am currently preparing the first in a series of concrete announcements related to the European Cloud Computing Strategy. I want Europe to be not only cloud-friendly but cloud-active: the right common rules could enhance cloud development, but the wrong choices on data protection would cut off lots of potential uses and business offerings before they’ve even started. At the World Economic Forum in Davos, I will announce a concrete project aimed at making it easier for buyers – particularly public sector buyers – to cooperate on requirement definitions and possibly pool their resources when procuring Cloud Computing services.

And second because there’s more to data protection than cloud computing (and vice versa) since data protection is relevant to almost all digital activity. In particular when we use the Internet, almost anywhere we go, we leave data traces behind. And we are all of us rightly concerned with the question of what companies, and governments, do with this personal data.

When it comes to individual privacy in the digital age, my view is clear: I want to see the principles of transparency, fairness and user control running through everything. Transparency so that citizens know exactly what the deal is. Fairness so that citizens are not forced into sharing their data. And user control so that citizens can decide – in a simple, informed and effective manner – what they allow others to know. And all of this should be combined with better regulation principles, imposing only the minimum legal and administrative burdens needed to achieve these goals.

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ICT IN INCREDIBLE INDIA

Thursday, November 24th, 2011

Neelie Kroes in India November 2011

Been going non-stop since arrival in Dehli some 12 hours ago with only a few hours sleep. In my meetings with government tomorrow, I will suggest alternative path to growth and closer cooperation. Will send around links of media interviews also.

Today so far we had a stimulating meeting with EU ICT equipment industry – they employ more than 40,000 people in India. I’m very worried about draft bill here that would reserve 80% of ICT equipment market for Indian products which would shut European companies out from fast-growing market. Not the fair or level playing field I believe in, and a key reason for me being here.  The local companies I met today argued strongly for protectionist approach to allow domestic industry to grow. I said best way to grow is to cooperate globally, not to close Indian market off.

I also made a presentation to Indian software association. Very dynamic, confident bunch. They are worried that draft local content legislation might derail EU-India FTA which they very much want. And of course I am a huge supporter of an ambitious agreement – it’s the best way forward for us all.  Such an agreement would mean €9 billion in total benefits, virtually evenly split between EU and India. In fact, EU is India’s number one export destination and the EU is India’s number one foreign investor.

[FRIDAY UPDATE]

Dehli traffic quite hectic – not sure why I am surprised. But it was interesting to hear only 5000 European cars sold in India last year because of high customs tariffs. FTA should help.
There is a scam with spectrum allocation defrauding the taxpayer for some $ 40bn making headlines. Former telecoms Minister and several businessmen in jail. Happy we have clear rules in place in EU for spectrum auctions!

Am doing interviews with journalists, TV interview with CNBC. Major interest in euro crisis.

On my meetings, it is very encouraging with Telecoms Minister Sibal. He reassured me that telecoms legislation will not discriminate against non-Indian companies. We agreed that EU and India should cooperate more closely in R&D, internet security and regulation. High-level dialogue in February, with results expected in 6 months.  The EU already finances 30 projects in R&D involving 60 Indian partners amounting to more than € 50 million, but we can certainly do more.

Telecom Regulator Sarma said his ambition is to connect 225.000 villages to broadband in next 2 years. No small challenge.

All in all, a very useful visit.  

P.S. I learned Minister Sibal is also a poet. So Herman Van Rompuy is in good company!
P.P.S.  Did you know? EU now offers Protected Geographical Indication status to “Darjeeling” tea. That’s the first just right for an Indian product.

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Connecting Europe: Commission offers broadband a boost of €50-100 billion

Wednesday, October 19th, 2011

It’s my dream to get Every European Digital. And that means everyone needs to be covered by fast broadband connections.

The economic benefits are clear: increasing broadband penetration by just 10 percentage points can boost GDP by 0.9 – 1.5%. But we face problems in delivering new networks: insufficient investment, problems in accessing capital, and a weak business case for operators to roll out everywhere. And we also face difficulty in making online public services available across Europe.

So the European Commission has today proposed a boost which could leverage total broadband investment between €50 and €100 billion, and will also provide funding for pan-European digital public services. Read the full entry

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The first-ever Digital Agenda Assembly

Friday, June 17th, 2011

Me getting some tips from my young advisers

We’re just approaching the end of our first ever Digital Agenda Assembly.  It’s been a fulfilling – if action-packed – couple of days.

For those of you who don’t know, the DAA is a staging post for the Agenda – one year after we launched it. So a chance to review what’s been done, and a chance to remind ourselves why the project is so important; a “State of the Digital Union”. Read the full entry

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Mobile Energy Efficiency benchmarking

Tuesday, March 22nd, 2011
Green mobile phone

Photo credit: timetoturn.wordpress.com

At the Commission we work hard from lots of angles to promote a greener world, and I don’t think the ICT sector can be an exception (see here for what my own team is doing).

 So, it’s great to see the Mobile sector’s Green Manifesto getting some real teeth today with 17 new recruits signing up to the GSM Association’s (GSMA) Mobile Energy Efficiency Network Benchmarking Service.

The idea, as I understand it, is that this will help operators measure and monitor their networks’ energy and carbon footprints. This is very welcome, in particular because the approach of using a common measurement framework. This approach mirrors the task we set for the whole ICT sector in our Digital Agenda for Europe. (My next question: which part of the sector is next? Tell me!)

 The other point worth making here is about the GSMA’s active collaboration with international standardisation organizations. This will help us have really strong data to assess the life cycle impact of ICT. That can’t be over-estimated because we have to know what impact we are really dealing with in order to reduce it in the best ways. Transparency around metrics can reveal information on poorly (or well) functioning products and systems, and thus help us make meaningful progress towards sustainability. And again, it all fits with our approach in the Digital Agenda.

 So, what does all of this mean? It means we have reason to think ICT industries are ‘getting their act together’ on green issues. It’s not enough to talk about how much energy digitization saves; we also have to deal with the sector’s growing appetite for energy. And with the insights gained from transparent metrics we are better able to do that. It may make the difference between an industry that devours energy and natural resources, and accelerates climate change, and one is at the heart of our work to treat the planet better. This is why the Commission has ranked the task among the 16 priority actions of our Digital Agenda, and it’s why I am pleased with this sort of progress through industry partnership.

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Every Woman Digital – the task for the ICT sector

Tuesday, March 8th, 2011

Logo of International Women's Day

On this International Women’s Day – the 100th – I remain frustrated, but optimistic about the role of women in Europe’s ICT sector.

I am optimistic, because I see women and organisations taking steps forward every day. And there is great interest in these issues (my tweets today on IWD have been retweeted more than any others since I started tweeting!!) But still the pace of change, in particular in the ICT sector, is slow.

So, let’s start with the positive.  There are great role models everywhere.

From the brave women of Egypt – who now deserve a full role in their country’s future to European women featured in this great calendar.  From the companies that have signed our Code of Best Practices for Women in ICT, to the all the women who’ve made ICT what it is:  from Ada Lovelace, the very first programmer, to the women who programmed ENIAC the first computer

But we face a long battle. Generally, as this video shows, and in ICT in particular – to win for women the opportunities and recognition they deserve.  And this is not just a problem for them, for us as women – this imbalance is a problem for the whole sector. The ICT sector must find a new gender balance if it wants to avoid underperformance and a huge skills shortage in coming years.

The imbalance is so obvious it is hardly to make the explanation interesting. Can anyone name a woman who set up and run their own huge ICT company? In that hall of fame, the names you think of are Jobs, Gates, the Google guys, the Skype guys, Zuckerberg and his friends. It’s time we saw a woman on that list.

That would not be an answer in itself, but it would be a sing of deep cultural change. A sign that we can do more than run networks and camps and codes – a sign that women were really included in the sector. So we have to take a very broad perspective – starting with the school system and going right through to the top of the profession. Getting and keeping women in ICT is about career progression, equal pay and balancing family and professional life. See my full speech here.

From classrooms to boardrooms to garage start-ups: my message is the same.  There is no point in getting half of Europe digital. There is no place for macho nonsense in our digital future.

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Getting the right regulatory environment for rolling out Next Generation Networks

Thursday, February 10th, 2011

fibre

I’ve been in Milan today for Europe’s Fibre To The Home Council conference (try saying that out loud when English is not your first language!). You can read the full speech here.  But for a flavour of my thoughts, read on.

While broadband for all is central to our economic future, it’s clear that time is against us. We aren’t investing enough - there aren’t enough new connections each day. That’s why the clarity and incentives provided by the EU’s Next Generation Access (NGA) Recommendation is essential. I really can’t stress enough the importance of consistent application by National Regulatory Authorities (NRAs) of the principles laid down in the Recommendation. As it stands, some national regulators are not “playing by the rules” of the Recommendation, which is a pity given that it offers clarity and supports attractive margins / returns for investors, while ensuring efficient competitors have a fair chance to compete. That is the right balance, and it is up to the NRAs to enforce this as a matter of fairness and of maintaining the best possible investment climate.

I want us to be able to lift our investment in broadband through deeper cooperation across the industry and different levels of government. But I want to be clear that I won’t heistiate to use new powers under the telecoms rules entering into force in May 2011 to ensure appropriate and consistent application of remedies.

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