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Denmark's Presidency Targets IT Security
by William New
Denmark assumed the mantle of the European Union's presidency on July 1, stepping into an "unusually wide-ranging and very full agenda," the nation said in the work program outlining its goals. And a few items related to the Internet and information technology are included in the broad sweep of goals to be accomplished by Jan. 1.
In the program, the tech emphasis is by far heaviest in the area of crime and security. For instance, the European Union will work for "both technologically and legally improved scope for electronic exchange of information between police and public prosecutors in member states, particularly as regards fingerprints and details of previous criminal convictions."
The program cites child pornography on the Internet as one of the forms of crime it will target. Denmark said it plans to "continue work on alignment of member states' criminal law and penalties in areas of transnational significance, such as information-technology crime, racism and xenophobia and corruption in the private sector."
Denmark officials also plan to push forward the implementation of the European convention on the use of information technology for customs purposes in an effort to ensure "more effective cooperation and inspection procedures for investigation and prosecution of serious breaches of national law," the document said.
In addition, border security will be targeted for improvement, including the establishment of a European visa database.
Denmark also hopes to advance the so-called eEurope plan for enhancing the "information society," which includes extending Internet access to more people. The nation also will oversee the adoption of a directive on "permission for commercial exploitation of public information," the program said. And it will try to implement a new framework of research and technological development, with the establishment of a European research area.
The Danish government, which has created a Web site for its presidency, set the overarching goals of enlarging the European Union, and improving security, sustainable development, food safety and "global responsibility" or foreign policy. It does not mention addressing the global "digital divide."
Other goals include improving competition within Europe by "modernizing" competition rules, simplifying EU directives on government procurement and reducing government subsidies.
The European Union hopes to complete negotiations with as many as 10 countries by 2003 so that some may join the 15-nation entity in 2004, in time for parliamentary elections. Countries most likely to join first include: Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland and Slovakia.
Danish officials have invited U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft to Europe. If he accepts, the trip would be the first by a U.S. attorney general to an official meeting in Europe, according to government sources.
Survey Maps Global Tech Decisions
International decisions on information and communications technologies often affect developing countries, but they are not well represented in the decision-making process, according to a new survey.
The survey, commissioned by the United Kingdom Department for International Development, followed a 2001 directive of the Group of Eight industrialized nations for proposals to promote universal participation in such international decision-making. The directive was given to the Digital Opportunities Task Force, which was dropped by the G-8 at its summit last month, when the survey results were presented.
The Commonwealth Telecommunications Organization and Panos London conducted the survey in the first half of 2002. They found that developing countries are members of established multilateral organizations, such as the United Nations and the World Trade Organization, and are usually represented at their meetings. But there is not an effective connection between the agendas and decisions of those bodies and development goals.
The survey also found that developing countries have little influence in voluntary, private and nonprofit entities created to standardize and manage the Internet and other technologies. They have no influence where market power is a factor for standards setting. Furthermore, developing countries' resources are stretched too thin, and they often lack the know-how to translate international decisions into the effect on their own development objectives.
The report recommended action to increase awareness and provide information about the international policy agenda, build capabilities, strengthen national policy institutions, improve the structure and functioning of tech policymaking, and better use financial resources.
A separate project involving developing countries and the Internet is the Digital Dividend Project Clearinghouse, a fully searchable repository for ideas and shared experiences in electronic projects to provide services to underserved populations. It covers about 600 projects, with about 50 added every month, according to the project.
U.K. Ruling Gives Police E-Mail Access
A United Kingdom high-court ruling issued Monday will allow Internet service providers (ISPs) to lawfully intercept e-mails if requested by police. The argument in favor of the plan is that additional powers given police would be undercut by a lack of cooperation from ISPs.
The intercepts could occur as soon as the ISPs receive notification that an order is being sought from the courts, the Guardian reports. Safeguards are built in, requiring police to justify applications in court.
Separately, British Prime Minister Tony Blair has set a target of 2006 for the first general election in which traditional ballot boxes will be cast aside and voting will be done online or by physical mail, the Guardian reports.
South Africa's E-Commerce Policy Nears Law
A bill to promote e-commerce that would take control of South Africa's .za domain-name suffix has cleared its final hurdle and awaits President Thabo Mbeki's signature to become law, according to Reuters.
The bill aims to create a secure environment for all types of e-commerce, South African Communications Minister Ivy Matsepe-Casaburri told legislators. The transfer of the .za name would be done without approval of the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers, which oversees the domain-name system -- including .za. The government's takeover would be done through a nonprofit company.
The bill also contains a provision that would give full legal recognition to electronic documents and signatures.
Report On Japan Reform To Be Released
The first report to the leaders on the U.S.-Japan Regulatory Reform and Competition Policy Initiative will be addressed in a Commerce Department meeting on July 30. Patty Sefcik of the e-commerce office at the U.S. Commerce Department and Brian Peck of the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative, co-chairs of the Information Technology Working Group, will guide the discussion, including identifying next steps.
The U.S. and Japanese leaders accepted the Japanese report on June 26 at the time of the G-8 meeting.
The Information Technology Association of America (ITAA), meanwhile, has announced a weeklong business development trip to China, in conjunction with the Northern Virginia Technology Council. It starts Sept. 23.
A major focus of the trip will be to locate opportunities for U.S. firms related to the 2008 Olympics, according to ITAA. Beijing has touted the event as the Digital Olympics, as it tries to use planning for the Olympics to bring the nation's Internet infrastructure and use up to speed.
Canada, U.S. Hold Forum On Cross-Border Crime
Attorney General John Ashcroft and Canadian Solicitor General Lawrence MacAulay met in Banff, Canada, on Monday at a bi-national border-crime forum. Ashcroft and MacAulay announced the establishment of five new Integrated Border Enforcement Teams, a criterion of the "smart border" action plan.
The idea for teams was originally established in 1996, according to a press release from the Canadian solicitor general.
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