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Privacy And Consumer Protection In Asia
by William New
The United States is leading the way in the discussion of privacy and consumer protection in the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation's e-commerce steering group, according to Kate Rodriguez of the International Trade Administration's Office of Electronic Commerce.
The consumer-protection work program reaches back to a U.S.-organized workshop in July 2000. Canada and China are co-chairing the group now, and at the August meeting, the group agreed to three items for next year's agenda.
First, the group will survey APEC economies to gather information about consumer-protection practices, possibly leading to a report at the end of 2002. Another project will be to craft voluntary guidelines for consumer protection, with a requirement that all countries participating in the discussions reach a consensus. Finally, the group hopes to complete a Web site for members of the steering group to exchange information on their practices.
The group also agreed to a U.S. proposal for a privacy forum to be held at its next meeting in Mexico City in February. Both government and private-sector officials will speak at the one-day forum.
Internet Growth Nearly Quadruples
Internet bandwidth grew by 174 percent worldwide between 2000 and 2001, according to the Washington-based research group TeleGeography, but the growth is uneven. For instance, Latin American connectivity grew almost 480 percent last year, with most of that growth the result of new submarine cable systems built by Telefonica and Global Crossing.
The findings also showed most countries becoming less dependent on the United States for Internet infrastructure, though the United States was still responsible for more than 80 percent of Internet capacity in Asia, Africa and South America as of mid-2001.
Broadband Spreads Unevenly In Europe
The European Commission on Tuesday released an independent study on the development of high-speed Internet access in the 15-nation European Union that found considerable differences in the rate of broadband rollout.
The study found that cable modems and asymmetrical digital subscriber lines provided by phone companies would become the leading technologies for accessing the high-speed Internet, accounting for more than half of all Internet connections to homes or small and medium-sized businesses by 2005. The study also found that the spread of broadband access would be faster in EU countries that have the highest level of Internet penetration in homes and small businesses, and that have been fastest in opening telecommunications markets.
EU Enterprise and Information Society Commissioner Erkki Liikanen said broadband would be "one of our top priorities" in 2002.
In other news, Liikanen canceled plans to visit the United States this week because a meeting of the Trans-Atlantic Business Dialogue in Washington was canceled. Liikanen had been scheduled to speak at the European-American Business Council, which is working to reschedule Liikanen's visit for November.
Telecoms Urge Caution On Data Retention
The European Telecommunications Network Operators Association (ETNO) on Tuesday urged members of the European Parliament not to expand data-retention rules for e-mail traffic.
ETNO Director Michael Bartholomew told members of parliament at a luncheon that the telecom industry "fully supports" efforts to fight computer-related crime. But, he added, "We are concerned about proposals by certain [EU] member states regarding traffic data retention. ETNO strongly believes that any storage requirements to meet the needs of law enforcement authorities must carefully reflect all the costs and benefits for society as a whole."
Business Group Seeks Model Contracts
The Union of Industrial and Employers' Confederations of Europe (UNICE) on Tuesday called on the European Union to change its proposed model of standard contractual clauses. The model contracts provide the legal basis for transferring personal data outside the European Union.
UNICE expressed concern that the EU clauses impose responsibilities on data importers and exporters that exceed the "adequate level of data protection" required in the EU Data Protection Directive for international transfers. UNICE and other organizations have presented EU Internal Market Commissioner Fritz Bolkestein with a "business-driven" alternative that would give more flexibility to companies.
For instance, the alternative proposal would replace the proposal for shared liability between exporters and importers with a requirement that exporters conduct "due diligence" audits to check that the data being supplied is not misused.
Senators React To Korean Semiconductor Bailout
Republican Sens. Michael Crapo of Idaho and Larry Craig of Wyoming late last week criticized a decision by the South Korean government to bail out financially struggling semiconductor Hynix. On Oct. 4, the government froze more than $7 million in debt owed by Hynix by delaying the repayment until after the start of 2002, they said.
"This unfair and harmful subsidization flies in the face of free-market principles, and it causes real commercial damage to Korea's trading partners, which includes the U.S.," Crapo said in a statement. "It is outrageous that efficient companies like Micron are being forced to compete against companies that are being underwritten by governments."
Micron's corporate headquarters and semiconductor manufacturing facility is located in Boise, Idaho. Craig said the Treasury Department and U.S. Trade Representative Robert Zoellick told him that the administration is carefully monitoring the issue.
Australia Issues Guidelines On Health Care Privacy
Australian Privacy Commissioner Malcolm Crompton this month oversaw the publication of guidelines on the protection of personal data in health care. The guidelines seek to accentuate flexibility for organizations to meet their privacy obligations while recognizing the "particularly sensitive nature" of, and working to protect, individuals' health information.
The guidelines, an amendment to the nation's 1988 privacy act, take effect Dec. 21. They are not legally binding but contain enforcement mechanisms designed to encourage compliance. The commissioner is not limited in actions he can take in cases of privacy breaches and ultimately may challenge alleged breaches in court.
Mexico-EU Stress Science, Tech Training
Mexico and the European Union have agreed to a list of trade priorities, including cooperation on scientific, technical, educational and cultural issues.
The nations reached the deal in the first meeting of a joint committee established by their bilateral trade and policy agreement They agreed on the need to promote the signing of agreements specific to sectors such technology in order to complement existing programs.
India Seeks Comments On Dial-Up Net Access
The Telecom Regulatory of India on Tuesday issued a paper on the quality of dial-up Internet services, hoping that stakeholder comments on the subject will help improve such services. The purpose is to make Internet service providers accountable for service quality while identifying bottlenecks such as slow access and multiple dial-up attempts.
BuyUSA.com Targets Overseas Markets
A new Commerce Department Web site, BuyUSA.com, allows businesses to locate potential trading partners on the Internet. Through the site, which is a joint undertaking with IBM, foreign buyers can view product catalogs and background information on U.S. companies that have been pre-qualified by Commerce.
More than 14,000 overseas buyers in 112 countries have signed up so far, Commerce said. The service offers online access to department trade specialists worldwide who can assist buyers and sellers with technical issues, such as regulations, credit-screening and marketing.
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