EC Official Presses Governments to Cooperate Better for Digital Single Market

Europe's fragmented laws are especially bad for small- and mid-sized companies, said Ansip. Regulations must be harmonized, inside and outside the EU, he said. If countries can't work together on more harmonization of spectrum, or agree on principles of net neutrality at the EU level, or have more standardized data protection and copyright rules, the telecom market will remain Balkanized, he said. Even in the cybercrime arena, cooperation works, he said. Ansip was prime minister when cyberattacks hit Estonia, and the country managed to handle them because of informal cooperation among international computer emergency response teams, he said.

The EC is trying to find an approach on the digital single market because it's one of the main keys to building a new dynamic across Europe's economy, Ansip said. But it won't be a quick fix, he said. His initiatives focus on: (1) Building trust and confidence in the online world. (2) Removing restrictions such as geo-blocking and preventing new ones. (3) Guaranteeing access to the Internet, connectivity and investment in networks.

Panelists laid out what they want the EU to do about the DSM in three sessions that U.K. European Parliament member Vicky Ford called "speed-dating through the issues." Data is "at the heart" of the digital single market, said DigitalEurope Director General John Higgins. The focus should be on global standards for dealing with big data, analyzing it and keeping it secure, he said. Policymakers should understand how this "second wave" of opportunities works, to develop strategies to make Europe the best in the world, he said. BusinessEurope Deputy Director Jérome Chauvin asked governments to stop focusing on minimizing risk and look to spurring opportunities.

For Europe to take full advantage of digital technologies and big data, it needs high-performing networks, said Vesa Terävä, head of the EC CNECT directorate regulatory coordination and users unit. Infrastructure is lacking, he said.

The framework isn't working anymore, said European Telecommunications Network Operators' Association Director Daniel Pataki. Europe's legacy approach is adapted to a silo environment that doesn't work in the digital revolution, said AT&T Vice President-International External Affairs Karim Lesina. He said AT&T in the U.S. not only invested heavily in infrastructure but also moved early to open its network to other innovators. Policymakers should focus on future-proof, technology neutral, light-touch regulation; regulating services rather than platforms; and letting industry compete, intervening only if the clear need arises, said Ericsson Director-Government & Industry Relations Walter van der Weiden.

Investment and competition form a "virtuous circle," said European Competitive Telecommunications Association Director Erzsébet Fitori. The most important priority for ECTA is regulation based on future-proof competition law, she said. The lack of investment in new networks is because historical monopolies are being reconstituted, she said.

The more the world goes online, the more vulnerabilities and crime are created, said Troels Oerting, head of Europol's European Cybercrime Centre (EC3). Competition and innovation won't happen without privacy and security safeguards, he said. Policymakers should recognize that law enforcement agencies must have information that's "online and immediate," and that requires large companies to report breaches, he said. Data retention times must be sufficient to let EC3 identify criminals and, most importantly, businesses must realize that they have to help fight cybercrime, he said. DS Park, chief representative of Samsung EU affairs, called for a self- or co-regulatory approach to dealing with child safety online.

E-commerce companies had other priorities. The EU should strongly back the one-stop-shop principle to prevent businesses from having to negotiate 28 sets of rules, said eBay Head-Government Relations Europe, Middle East and Africa Stefan Krawczyk. Computer and Communications Industry Association Europe Vice President James Waterworth, however, urged policymakers not to over-standardize the "single" part of DSM because the market needs a variety of products and services. The app industry will be a growing part of the DSM, said Kaisu Karvala, Rovio vice president-corporate affairs. The sector wants to comply but policymakers must make the requirements clearer, she said.

The best way to handle copyright in the context of the DSM is to encourage rollout of legal offers, said Microsoft Senior Manager Jeremy Rollison, who chairs the European Digital Media Association internal copyright working group. The DSM still faces several barriers, said Olivia Regnier, director of the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry's European office. One is the lack of clarity about the role of certain online operators, some of which claim they are only intermediaries and don't need to negotiate music licenses, she said. Another problem is that the recording industry must enforce its rights separately in every EU country instead of having a single route, she said.

European Consumer Organisation priorities for the DSM are to build trust with users, ensure consumer choice and guarantee protection for consumers if things go wrong with online activities, said Agustín Reyna, that group's legal officer. Key issues for the World Wide Consortium Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI) include harmonizing take-up of its guidelines, and raising the awareness and skills of Web designers and developers, users and policymakers about making sites accessible, said Shadi Abou-Zahra, WAI International Program Office activity lead.