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Toward A Trans-Atlantic Digital Dialogue
by William New
Elected officials in the United States and Europe who make Internet issues a priority have a growing "sense" that they need a more formal way to communicate about policy developments, according to an official with the Transatlantic Policy Network (TPN).
Peter Linton, who serves as adviser to the board of governors of the parliamentary European Internet Foundation, expressed that view in an interview. He is the "rapporteur," or the one who keeps records and drafts policies, for the TPN, a non-governmental policy network for U.S. and European politicians and private-sector officials to focus on common issues.
Linton said he senses the increased interest in more formal communications from both sides after the visit of European Parliament members to Washington in July. Elected officials want to compare notes on Internet issues such as unsolicited commercial e-mail, or spam, and privacy, especially as it is affected by security policies, he said.
There are formal channels for European and U.S. officials to communicate on broader issues, traditionally focused on security. Through those channels, which do not always include the Parliament, the focus is shifting to include economic issues as well, he said. The TPN, which provides an informal venue, involves officials who are likely to have more expertise in their areas, one of which is the digital economy.
Digital economy issues are considered important building blocks for the broader trans-Atlantic market concept that the TPN is trying to give new political impetus, Linton said. TPN links Parliament's European Internet Foundation and the U.S. Congressional Internet Caucus to give the political dialogue about the digital economy "the benefit of the broader good will and effect of TPN," Linton said. Key elected officials from both groups generally meet twice a year in Washington or Brussels, Belgium, the headquarters of the European Union.
The officials involved recognize the limitations of an informal dialogue with no political teeth, Linton said, but many of them also are the key players on the issues in Parliament or Congress who can advocate TPN-generated ideas. Still, officials on both sides of the Atlantic recognize that the window for establishing a formal exchange could close in a few years.
Erika Mann, a German member of Parliament and a leader in the TPN, raised the notion of formalizing the trans-Atlantic relationship in a July speech in Washington, adding that Parliament in June proposed an EU-U.S. framework treaty. She said the two economies are so interlinked that they must converge on regulations and recognize each other's standards further "upstream," or earlier in the process. Therefore, policymakers must craft an agenda to boost trans-Atlantic integration, she said.
Mann cited the U.S.-EU "safe harbor" agreement on privacy, a compromise that lets U.S. firms meet the stricter EU standards on data protection, as an example of a way to find solutions where cultural differences make a common policy difficult.
Linton acknowledged that with an election this year in Congress and next spring in Parliament, real progress might be minimal. But when they get to it, he said, "the next step is some richer and more systematic way to exchange information on each of these areas."
In other European news, the privacy advocacy group European Digital Rights (EDRi) reports that the Finnish Ministry of Education has published a new draft copyright law similar to one rejected by the Finnish Parliament in February.
EDRi also reports that in July, a Polish e-government law began forcing tens of thousands of public institutions to put certain information on special Web sites. Some see the obligation as onerous, EDRi said.
India's Threat To U.S. Workers Called Overstated
Some U.S. legislators seeking remedies for domestic economic woes have targeted the flow of jobs and contracts to foreign workers either in the United States or overseas. One of the targets of that blame has been India, which has a large supply of skilled technology workers and a growing technology industry.
But Sunil Mehta, vice president of the National Association of Software and Service Companies (NASSCOM), said U.S. workers still have nothing to fear from India. In an interview during a visit to Washington, Mehta said India is a rapidly growing market for U.S. tech exports, importing about $3 billion in software products a year.
He said U.S. companies have been heavily investing in India, seeking the benefits of high productivity and the rapid growth in the market for U.S. products.
"The entire decline in the U.S. high-tech industry has been attributed to [Indian workers]," Mehta said, yet there are 10.3 million people employed in the U.S. high-tech sector, compared with 650,000 in India.
In addition, while more customer-support call centers for U.S. tech firms are being located in India, that industry employs 6 million people in the United States, compared with 60,000 in India, he said. Financial services back-office work employs 8 million in the United States and 70,000 in India, he added.
Mehta also mentioned that "open source" software, whose code can be seen and modified by users, is "really gaining momentum" in India.
And on the intractable issue at the World Trade Organization of whether to classify software delivered over the Internet as a good or service, Mehta said his personal view is that it will be a "non-issue" in the next few years because information technology is becoming more like a utility, where people will pay for what they use.
Telecom Group To Meet In Washington
The Inter-American Telecommunication Commission, which goes by the Spanish acronym CITEL, is meeting this week to address a range of issues.
CITEL, part of the Organization of American States, is the main forum for Western Hemispheric governments and private-sector representatives to meet on regional issues. The group follows guidelines given it by the heads of state and government at the summits of the Americas.
CITEL works on issues such as the ability of advanced wireless technologies throughout the hemisphere to communicate with each other, telecommunications policies for the Americas, the growth of high-speed Internet access, the management of Internet domain names and the promotion of information infrastructure.
The group this week also will discuss the December U.N. World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS).
Actions By And Against Korea
The South Korean government is working on regulations that would provide legal protection for Internet domains as a way to prevent profit-motivated registrations by cyber squatters.
The Korea Herald reports that beginning in 2004, the government would fine cyber squatters more than $8,000 for Web sites that violate the regulations. In addition, domain-name registrations that are not used for 18 months could be canceled.
Korea also is preparing to strengthen its laws against computer hacking by subjecting would-be hackers to jail time of up to three years in jail or fines of some $25,000, the Korea Herald reports.
Meanwhile, South Korea's government-backed chip maker, Hynix Semiconductor, sustained another blow on Tuesday as the European Union imposed a nearly 35 percent tariff on imports from the firm. According to the Inquirer, the decision extends provisional tariffs up to five years, a step that is considered a major victory for U.S.-based Micron Technology and Germany's Infineon Technologies. The United States recently hit Hynix with a nearly 45 percent tariff.
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