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TechnologyDaily Mobile
Europeans Tackle Several Tech Issues
by William New
The European Commission on Tuesday launched a month-long public consultation period on a draft requirement that would oblige national regulators to examine relevant product and service markets in the electronic-communications sector.
The requirement is part of the new regulatory framework for electronic communications in Europe that will be applied by the 15 European Union member states as of July 2003. The examination is done to assess whether regulatory obligations should be applied to dominant market players in order to stimulate competition in the market.
The commission will decide whether the issue of mobile-call termination is to be included beyond the initial version of the recommendation in March 2003. A hearing will be held July 3, and a final recommendation will be adopted after consultations.
On Friday, the commission announced a new online service for businesses to validate their customers' identification numbers under the European value-added tax (VAT). The service gives businesses access to a portion of the electronic information-exchange system used by tax authorities.
Other EU announcements last week included news of an investment of nearly $669.4 million in nanotechnology research, and the adoption of technical specifications of a digital tachograph that will record driving times and rest periods of professional drivers. Commercial trucks must use the digital recording equipment and dashboard computers within two years.
Separately, EU Trade Commissioner Pascal Lamy will be in Washington on Thursday and Friday for a series of meetings on bilateral and multilateral trade issues. Lamy is scheduled to meet with Sen. Charles Grassley, R-Iowa; and Reps. Sander Levin, D-Mich, and Bill Thomas, R-Calif.; Treasury Secretary Paul O'Neill; and U.S. Trade Representative Robert Zoellick. Lamy also will meet with Enrique Iglesias, president of the Inter-American Development Bank.
In other EU news, a new nonprofit association has been registered in Europe to defend and promote privacy and civil rights in technology. European Digital Rights (EDRi) will set up in Brussels, Belgium, the home of the European Commission. Ten privacy rights and civil liberties groups from seven EU countries founded EDRi during a June 8 meeting in Berlin.
"The need for cooperation among European organizations is increasing as more regulation for the Internet, privacy and interception is originating from the European Union," a release from EDRi member Digital Rights of Denmark said. "Especially since [the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks], the pace in which civil-rights-threatening regulation has been passed demands unified action from the defenders of these rights."
The group said examples of such regulation include data-retention requirements, telecommunications interception, the Council of Europe cyber-crime treaty and initiatives for rating and filtering Internet content, among others.
Britain Backs Off Online Surveillance Plan
The British government on Tuesday said it would withdraw a plan to expand online surveillance powers after it caused an outcry over privacy among elected officials and the public, according to AP.
The plan would have extended to other agencies the two-year-old Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act (RIPA), which gives police, intelligence agencies, customs and tax officials the authority to demand e-mail, mobile phone and Internet records. The new agencies would have included those overseeing health, transportation, and food standards, as well as local authorities and fire departments.
The stated goal was to target organized crime. But the plan caused members of Parliament to urge a delay after civil liberties groups rallied against it. The Internet Service Providers Association also had criticized the plan, according to BBC News. The government will conduct consultations before sending new proposals to Parliament, AP said.
The British government's case was not helped by the leak to the Guardian newspaper of a classified document showing that intelligence agencies plan to keep surveillance techniques from being revealed in criminal prosecutions. Law enforcement officials would be expected to seek public-interest immunity certificates to avoid disclosure at trial, the document said.
In the leaked police manual, senior officers acknowledge that the ability to access private communications without first getting a judge's permission exceeds the police powers in most other countries, the Guardian said.
Indian Government Expands Probes Of Online Offenses
The Department of Information Technology in India is planning to establish a section devoted to cyber crime to complement existing government investigations against online offenses.
The new agency will assist law enforcement agencies already responsible for cyber crime by providing expert opinion, the Economic Times (India) reported. The office will help ascertain the nature and origin of crimes, the publication said.
The department, for which officials are being selected, will have a public-private advisory council and will involve state-level police. The aim of the security effort is to boost e-commerce in India.
In other Indian news, Sun Microsystems announced Monday that it has been chosen as the official platform provider to partner with the police of Andhra Pradesh, a state in India. The Economic Times reported that the platform will host a database, known as e-Cops, that will contain crime records and be accessible for the police to run applications. The e-Cops project also will allow citizens to communicate directly with police over the Internet in a secure fashion.
U.S. Techies Plan Trade Mission To Japan
The Software and Information Industry Association and the Commerce Department will lead a U.S. trade mission focused on software, information technology and e-commerce to Tokyo on Sept. 8-12. Participation in the mission, organized with support from the Japan External Trade Organization (JETRO), is open to U.S. companies interested in developing partnerships in Japan.
The mission will include one-on-one meetings for each participating company, a seminar where participants will make presentations to an audience of Japanese government and industry representatives, networking events, and business briefings.
In other trade news, Commerce Secretary Donald Evans is in Mexico this week, leading a group of 14 predominantly small U.S. firms to seek business opportunities in a variety of Mexican sectors, including information technology and telecommunications. On Tuesday, the second day of the four-day trade mission, the group met with Mexican Economy Secretary Luis Derbez and Energy Secretary Ernesto Martens to discuss ways to build on commercial ties.
In a Tuesday speech to the American Chamber of Commerce in Mexico, Evans stressed the need for Congress to renew the president's trade-negotiating authority. He also highlighted the benefits of the North American Free Trade Agreement among the United States, Mexico and Canada, and the need for greater attention to security.
U.S., Bahrain Sign Investment Agreement
U.S. Trade Representative Zoellick and Bahraini Minister of Finance and National Economy Abdallah Saif on Tuesday signed an agreement that establishes a forum for the two countries to examine ways to expand bilateral trade and investment.
The new Trade and Investment Framework Agreement (TIFA) establishes a U.S.-Bahrain Council on Trade and Investment, comprised of representatives from each country and co-chaired by Zoellick's office and the Bahraini finance ministry.
In 2001, the United States exported $398 million worth of goods to Bahrain and imported goods valued at $424 million from the island nation in the Persian Gulf.
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