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Tech Issues Abound For Europe In 2005
by William New
Various information and communications technology issues await European policymakers and their constituents in 2005, ranging from software patents to anti-piracy issues.
Among those who will tackle these issues include the new European Union commissioners, who this year begin the first year of their five-year terms, and new members elected to the European Parliament last year.
Policies on intellectual property will be at the forefront this year, sources said. "One of the mega-issues is to know where IP will go in the context of the information society," said Hugo Lueders, director of public policy for Europe, the Middle East and Africa at the Computing Technology Industry Association (CompTIA).
Intellectual Property On The Front Burner
An intense debate over the management of intellectual property rights on the Internet is brewing as consumer representatives have increased their concern about an EU initiative that the content industry says is necessary to protect its works.
"Everyone's starting to recognize that although [digital-rights management technologies] are starting to give benefits to consumers, such as allowing different types of business models, negative effects are starting to appear," said Michelle Childs, head of European affairs for the Consumer Project on Technology.
The issue, Childs said, is that such anti-piracy technologies are governed by the EU copyright directive, Europe's equivalent of the U.S. Digital Millennium Copyright Act, and "both have the same flaw." In both laws, when exceptions let consumers make private copies of music, film or other content online, the exceptions are undermined by the legal protections given to the technologies and bans on the sale and use of other technologies to bypass copyright protections. Childs called that a "triple lock," where "consumers are left with a paper right without a remedy."
A high-level group of the European Commission, the union's regulatory body, issued a "consensus" report in July. But consumer disagreement with the report delayed a workshop originally set for November. The workshop has not yet been rescheduled. A separate commission-funded report issued in December by the Informed Dialogue about Consumer Acceptability of Digital Rights Management Solutions has elevated consumer concerns.
Patents will hit center stage as well. A fight is erupting over a directive aimed at harmonizing patents on "computer-implemented inventions" after an attempt to debate it in the European Council in December was postponed over Poland's objection. Now several nations want the directive to be considered from scratch.
Both sides of the issue cite harm to innovation as the reason for their views, and the tussle is over whether to include software in the directive. Consumer groups and others have fought the measure, especially language related to software, out of fear that it would stifle innovation by favoring large companies. But industry groups opposed modifications made to the commission's directive by the consumer-friendly European Parliament, which dropped software from the plan.
Another, broader patent issue is an effort by developed countries, especially those in the European Union, Japan and United States, to harmonize global patent laws, according to Troy Groetken, president of the Association of Patent Law Firms and a partner at the McAndrews, Held and Malloy law firm in Chicago. The European Union, Japan, the United States and the World Intellectual Property Organization, and possibly Australia and Canada, are planning a meeting in Washington on Feb. 3-4.
Debates also will continue over "open source" software, which lets users view and modify the underlying code, and other open standards for technology. Some proprietary industry sectors are sensitive to moves by the union to support an open-source approach.
The E-Europe Plan And More
In other areas, EU leaders this spring are expected to consider updating the so-called e-Europe plan for the next five years. The goals cover various technology initiatives aimed generally at advancing the region and increasing participation in technological advances.
The commission has launched a public consultation on ensuring that the disabled can access technology systems and also is looking at reform to its universal service policy in the context of new communications convergence, an EU official said. Alan Miller, senior vice president for global affairs at the Information Technology Association of America, said the issue is whether the EU policy will parallel existing U.S. law and standards on tech access for the disabled.
Key telecommunications issues also are expected to arise this year. A commission official said monitoring of the proper implementation of the EU telecom regulatory framework will continue.
In addition, the commission is looking at a regulatory framework for Internet telephony, working with the multi-stakeholder European Regulators Group to reach agreement on a common way to treat the technology. The work could lead to issuance of a commission position statement on the subject. "It's very hot," the official said.
Another hot telecom topic, the official said, is "broadband-over-power-line services," which involves a third wire to the home for linking telephone service to cable, allowing high-speed communications access. A commission recommendation is expected in the spring.
Also, the EU global satellite navigation system, known as Galileo, is expected to become operational by the end of the year. "This is perhaps the most ambitious European project on communications ever on a global scale," Lueders said.
The United States and European Union have agreed to make their systems work together, which will require them to negotiate on the issue.
The EU antitrust case against Microsoft also is ongoing.
The Debate About Data Protection
Another top issue is an EU directive on data retention, under which Internet service providers must retain data for law enforcement for varying periods, depending on national-level implementation of the directive.
There also promises to be other debates over privacy, according to Cedric Laurant, policy counsel for the Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC). For instance, he said the European Union bodies may have to review the redesigned U.S. program for screening airline passengers.
Another privacy issue relates to the commission's just-issued contractual clauses for allowing EU personal data to be transferred to non-EU companies. Laurant said the clauses have been pitched as giving businesses more flexibility while providing the same level of data protection as the U.S.-EU "safe harbor" agreement, which lets participating U.S. companies transfer personal information from Europe. But he argued that the clauses actually provide new loopholes for U.S. companies by allowing them to choose what data-protection regimes they are subject to in contracts and how the protection applies.
Also on the radar is the European Union's consideration of how to handle situations where its law does not cover the processing of personal data. The issue has arisen in the context of radio-frequency identification (RFID) tags, a wireless tracking technology.
RFIDs also are related to concerns about a proposal compelling all EU countries to include fingerprints and integrated circuit cards in passports. Laurant said RFIDs generally only give a serial number, while the circuit cards include names and other personal information.
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