Courts may order ISPs to block access to copyright-breaching websites under certain conditions, said the European Court of Justice (ECJ) Thursday in a decision one commentator called unsurprising but important. The ruling in UPC Telekabel Wien GmbH v. Constantin Film Verleih GmbH and Wega Filmproduktionsgesellschaft mbH (http://bit.ly/NYcjur) arose from complaints by the movie companies that their films could be viewed and downloaded from the website kino.to without authorization, the court said. They sought injunctions against ISP UPC Telekabel Wien, which argued that it couldn’t be enjoined because it had no business relationship with kino.to’s operators and there was no proof that its own customers acted unlawfully. The ISP also claimed any possible blocking measures could be circumvented, and some are excessively expensive. The ECJ said the EU copyright directive allows rights-holders to seek injunctions against intermediaries whose services are used by third parties to infringe their rights, and that UPC is such an intermediary. The law doesn’t require a specific relationship between the person carrying out the infringement and the intermediary against whom an injunction is issued, nor is it necessary to prove that an ISP’s customers are actually accessing the material, it said. But fundamental rights recognized by EU law permit injunctions on two conditions, the court said: (1) The ISP’s measure doesn’t unnecessarily deprive users of the ability to lawfully access the information. (2) The blocking or other actions do prevent unauthorized access to the material or at least make it hard to access. Intellectual property rights in such situations conflict with other rights such as the freedom to conduct a business and user’s freedom of information, the ECJ said. Where several basic rights are at issue, EU governments must ensure their national laws strike a fair balance, it said. The ruling isn’t surprising because EU laws implicitly allow such interventions in order to repress piracy, telecom consultant Innocenzo Genna wrote on his radiobruxelleslibera blog (http://bit.ly/1pzl2OJ). Genna, who represents new-entrant, non-incumbent operators, said the decision is “very important” because it’s the first time the ECJ has set out mandatory principles national courts must comply with when they order ISPs to block access to copyright-infringing websites. Under the decision, ISPs can’t be forced to bear significant costs and put in place complex and difficult technical solutions, Genna wrote. The court said Web-blocking must be strictly targeted, particularly when the illicit content is available on sites used for lawful purposes, he said. The decision is “an important clarification that will strengthen the ability of the music and other creative industries to tackle piracy,” said the International Federation for the Phonographic Industry (IFPI). The ruling confirms that “copyright is itself a fundamental right requiring protection,” it said. Europe’s recording industry has more than 230 licensed services but its continued success depends on the legal environment in which it operates, IFPI said. “ISPs’ ability lawfully to prevent access to pirate sites that undermine legitimate music service is critically important.”
Dugie Standeford
Dugie Standeford, European Correspondent, Communications Daily and Privacy Daily, is a former lawyer. She joined Warren Communications News in 2000 to report on internet policy and regulation. In 2003 she moved to the U.K. and since then has covered European telecommunications issues. She previously covered the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration and intellectual property law matters. She has a degree in psychology from Duke University and a law degree from the University of Tulsa College of Law.
Big data and online accessibility and access should be among the Council of Europe’s top priorities for its 2016-2019 Internet governance strategy, speakers said Friday at a webcast CoE conference in Graz, Austria, on ensuring online rights. Government and civil society panelists said the 47-country human rights organization could play a leading role in helping stakeholders share best practices and in making sure that compliance with rules on Internet human rights is monitored properly.
The European Parliament’s overwhelming vote to revamp data protection rules won cheers from consumers and telecom network operators, but jeers from Europe’s digital technology sector, digital rights activists and direct marketers Wednesday. Parliament members (MEPs) approved 621-10 a regulation aimed at strengthening personal data protections in the digital world, and 544-78 a non-binding resolution ending their a six-month probe into NSA mass surveillance. They also passed 371-276 a proposal to improve data privacy in the context of law enforcement and judicial matters. The draft data protection regulation should help Internet users by giving them a right to have personal information erased, setting new limits on profiling and requiring Internet companies seeking to process personal data to obtain freely given, well-informed, explicit consent from users, Parliament said.
The European Parliament appears likely to back broad data protection changes as well as a nonbinding report on NSA spying in a plenary vote Wednesday. In a debate Tuesday, Parliament members (MEPs) generally supported the proposal for a regulation on processing of personal data, although several voiced misgivings with some provisions. The own-initiative report by the Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs (LIBE) Committee, on the impact of mass surveillance on EU citizens’ fundamental rights and trans-Atlantic cooperation, prompted impassioned debate. One center-right political group said it will oppose the report because it jeopardizes vital EU-U.S. trade and other agreements. Lawmakers slammed EU governments for their failure to reach speedy consensus on the data protection proposal and for not taking any action in the face of U.S. and other nations’ spying.
Internet of Things governance “might be defined carefully with two objectives in line to maintain customer trust: Security and privacy,” said European Telecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI) Smart M2M (machine-to-machine) Chairman Marylin Arndt in an email over the weekend. Arndt, the standards manager for wireless carrier Orange, will speak at a panel Tuesday at the IoT Europe summit in Brussels (CD March 3 p15). The session will compare the two approaches to IoT governance: Standards vs. policy and, if regulation is needed, at what level it should be implemented, she said. ETSI and now oneM2M -- the website of which says its goal is to develop technical specifications to address the need for a common M2M service layer that can be easily embedded in hardware and software to connect devices -- are working on standards based on the existence of a horizontal service platform which has application programming interfaces, is network-centric, and is independent from device connectivity and business vertical applications, she said. The platform will provide interoperability at three interfaces, she said: South (toward and from the devices); north (toward and from the applications); and middleware (above the device or gateway operating system). Different customized service layers will then co-exist on the service platform, and a guidelines and best practices book will define how data can be exchanged and shared with other applications, Arndt said. There will be a common semantic that allows higher-layer applications to be easily defined on top of the service layer, she said. The service layer with its tools and the abstracted layer with semantics could be considered “global” standards, which must be open and interoperable, in contrast with “dedicated” standards that are often closed and don’t allow networking, she said. ETSI M2M and oneM2M have now defined global standards, the first step toward such standards for the IoT, she said. Regulators will have to set rules for such things as common data models and command language for the home and building environment, and ensure that best practices respect privacy, she said. Governments will apply the rules allowing end-to-end security for IoT autonomous communication and data treatment, said Arndt. She said IoT governance will “probably be a balance between interoperable standards and policies.” The U.S. and European approaches to IoT development differ but are complementary, speakers said Monday at the meeting. (See separate report in this issue.)
BRUSSELS -- Nearly everyone agrees that the Internet of Things is coming, but not when or in what form, speakers said Monday at the Internet of Things Europe summit. The IoT always seems to be “just a few years around the corner,” said Carl-Christian Buhr, a member of cabinet for Digital Agenda Commissioner Neelie Kroes. The IoT should be, but often isn’t, distinguished from cyber-physical systems (CPS), said Geoff Mulligan, U.S. presidential innovation fellow on CPS and founder of the IPSO (Internet Protocol for Smart Objects) Alliance. The U.S. and EU approaches to IoT development differ but are complementary, speakers said.
BRUSSELS -- The Internet of Things will bring massive benefits to consumers, but the “smart home” it enables also sparks strong concerns about security and privacy, said panel and audience members Monday at the IoT Europe summit. There are also questions about what consumers will make of, and want from, the technology, and what social values, if any, it brings, they said.
Global cybersecurity rules and standards are needed to counter the “bad, scary world out there,” said Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication (SWIFT) CEO Gottfried Liebrandt Friday. He and other industry and EU speakers at a Brussels conference reviewing progress on the EU cybersecurity strategy backed more coordinated efforts in fighting cyberthreats. Several said they have learned lessons from Edward Snowden’s revelations about National Security Agency spying. For Digital Agenda Commissioner Neelie Kroes, the lesson is that “technology and democracy have to talk to each other,” she said. Snowden’s insights can be used to ensure a more secure online world and a more competitive environment for European industry, she said.
The definition of Internet of Things governance is a murky concept that’s hard to pin down, several speakers told us ahead of a March 3-4 IoT Europe summit in Brussels. In addition, opinions differ on whether and what standards may be needed for the technology, they said. But there appears to be agreement that governments should guide, but not dictate, the IoT, they said.
The app industry is misleading consumers, the European Commission said Thursday. It and national consumer protection authorities were scheduled to meet Thursday and Friday with app developers such as Google and Apple to address consumer complaints “from all over Europe,” it said. The EU market for online and mobile games and applications is vibrant but consumers are griping about such things as games advertised as “free” that aren’t, and receiving default credit card charges, it said. The sector has “enormous potential” to generate jobs and growth, but not if consumers lack confidence in the products, said Justice Commissioner Viviane Reding. Despite the concerns, however, the U.K. Office of Fair Trading (OFT) told us that app developers are making progress on the issues. The European Consumer Organisation (BEUC) said it should be at the table as well. European software developers agreed to further talks.