Germany must take the lead in pushing through reform of EU data protection rules, said outgoing European Data Protection Supervisor Peter Hustinx. Germany claims a special responsibility and role in the privacy arena, and the new German government can tackle the subject with enough drive and energy to lead Europe to a higher level of data protection, he said in a speech this week in Bonn. Revised data protection rules will define clearer responsibilities for organizations and more consistency and uniformity in privacy across online and traditional markets, so it’s essential that progress on the reform package is made before political and economic interests restrict basic rights, he said. Hustinx also called for an EU-level framework for net neutrality, saying the Internet is a key means of cross-border economic and social exchange. However, he said, the European Commission’s “connected continent” proposal for a regulation on e-communications will unduly limit Internet freedom because it gives almost unlimited rights to providers to manage traffic. Moreover, the large-scale monitoring and restriction of users’ Internet communications made possible in the proposal breach EU data protection legislation and the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights, he said. Users in democratic societies should be certain their rights to privacy and confidentiality of their communications, and protection of the personal information, are respected, he said.

The German Parliament opposition parties asked the German government to support suspension of several agreements with the U.S. on data transfers and to pass a resolution to invite former NSA contractor Edward Snowden to testify before a parliamentary inquiry expected to start next month. “This house can pass a resolution to bring Edward Snowden to Berlin to give us the information the NSA is not giving to us,” said Green Party member Hans-Christian Stroebele in the debate. Snowden is the only person willing and able to testify, he said. Stroebele, a member of the parliamentary control committee overseeing the German intelligence services, met Snowden at a surprise visit in Moscow late last year and has been promoting the invitation. Jan Korte, vice chairman of the Left Party, requested the suspension of the Terrorist Finance Tracking Program, Passenger Name Records and the Safe Harbor Agreement. “Diplomats caught in spying on our government in here in Germany should become ‘persona non grata,'” Korte said. Members of the ruling coalition of Conservatives and Social Democrats acknowledged the failure of the U.S. administration to provide adequate information requested by the German government with regard to the spy affair, which also targeted Chancellor Angela Merkel. “Responses provided so far are highly unsatisfactory,” said the parliamentary state secretary from the Ministry of the Interior. Negotiations on the no-spy-agreement are continuing, he said.

The Greek EU Presidency must help speed efforts to create a smarter Europe, said the European Telecommunications Network Operators’ Association Tuesday in an open letter to Infrastructure, Transport and Networks Minister Michalis Chrisochoidis (http://bit.ly/1cjNQVm). Greece will carry out the mid-term review of the digital agenda during its term, which runs until the end of June, and ETNO will work with the presidency to ensure that it sets an ambitious agenda for unleashing investment and innovation on the continental and global levels, it said. In 2017, global Internet Protocol traffic will reach 1.4 zettabytes per year, and ETNO members are the “digital spine of Europe,” it said. The gigabyte equivalent of all movies ever made will cross Western Europe’s backbone IP networks every 21 minutes, it said. That means the future will be more connected and that trend should be embraced, it said. ETNO urged the presidency to carefully plan the review of current e-communication regulations to take stock of the evolving information and communication technologies landscape and the emergence of new services, and to go beyond amending network regulations of the past and consider how to ensure interoperability of so-called Internet Of Everything devices and EU-wide accessibility and portability of content.

The U.S. Supreme Court’s granting of cert for the Aereo case is a “positive” for broadcasters because they initially asked the court to take up the case and it brings the matter closer to being resolved, said Wells Fargo analyst Marci Ryvicker in an email to investors. If broadcasters win, the high court proceeding will end with either Aereo’s being forced to shut down or its being allowed to remain in operation while paying broadcasters for content, she said. If Aereo has to pay broadcasters, “there will likely be wide-ranging implications regarding the definition of MVPDs [multichannel video programming distributors], which could end up including over-the-top technologies/players,” Ryvicker said. An Aereo win would not be “a fundamental risk” because most retransmission and program carriage agreements are already in place and have long terms, she said. Sports leagues would likely move their content to cable only and broadcasters could program their channels to give the best content to retrans paying MVPDs while sending lower quality content over the airwaves, hurting Aereo’s longevity, Ryvicker said. Since the Supreme Court case concerns only the broadcasters’ preliminary injunction against Aereo, it’s not the final word in the matter, Ryvicker said. As the case proceeds at the district court level, “there will likely be greater discovery and tests of Aereo’s technology,” Ryvicker said.

European Parliament recommendations for dealing with U.S. mass surveillance can’t be allowed to simply “evaporate” when a new legislature is elected in May, member (MEP) Claude Moraes, of the Socialists and Democrats and the U.K., said Thursday. He presented the final version of his resolution (bit.ly/1e58zU1) on spying to general preliminary approval by the Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs Committee (LIBE). The document recognized the magnitude of the revelations and their ongoing nature, and pushed for “forward planning” to ensure there are specific proposals on the table for follow-up in the next session. It called for a “European digital habeas corpus” to protect privacy based on seven actions: (1) Adopt the data protection revamp package this year. (2) Finalize the EU-U.S. umbrella agreement on data protection with provisions allowing redress for Europeans whose data has been transferred to the U.S. for law enforcement purposes. (3) Suspend the safe harbor agreement allowing data transfers to the U.S. pending a full review. (4) Suspend the Terrorist Finance Tracking Program until the umbrella agreement has been concluded and all problems raised by the parliamentary enquiry have been addressed. (5) Protect the rule of law and Europeans’ rights with a focus on threats to press freedom and better whistleblower safeguards. (6) Develop a European strategy for information technology independence. (7) Develop the EU as a reference player for democratic, neutral Internet governance. The report sets a proposed timetable for monitoring implementation to try to keep the findings high on the EU political agenda. “We want to look to the future,” Moraes said. The report is an “excellent, very comprehensive package” whose recommendations should be adopted as this Parliament’s legacy to the next, said MEP Sophie in ’t Veld, of the Alliance for Liberals and Democrats in Europe and the Netherlands. However, she said, the issue of enforcement is also important. Europe has good data protection rules in place which national authorities and the European Commission should be much stricter in enforcing, she said. The next parliament should be given the authority to conduct full enquiries, including subpoena power, she said. Moraes’ report is “one of the most important” in this legislative session, said MEP Cornelia Ernst, Group of the European United Left/Nordic Green Left and Germany. The question now is what parliament’s priorities will be, she said. Legislators must ask whether they have gotten to the heart of the matter and what happens next with the report, she said. Parliament needs stronger powers to be able to make a difference, she said. Proposed amendments from LIBE members are due Jan. 22.

Fallout from ex-National Security Agency contractor Edward Snowden’s disclosures on U.S. surveillance is among the top trade-related questions that loom over this year, said Myron Brilliant, head of international affairs at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. Snowden’s leaks that allegedly reveal extensive NSA communications surveillance globally are encouraging governments to limit the free movement of digital information across international borders with the potential to hamper global commerce, said Brilliant in a blog post Monday (http://uscham.com/1ksdBg4). “It’s a mistake to conflate alleged espionage by governments with how companies in different sectors rely on cross-border data flows,” said Brilliant. “Companies of every size, sector, and country have come to rely on the ability to move data across borders to create valuable products and services, enhance productivity, combat fraud, protect consumers, innovate, and create jobs. In fact, digital trade is just one more way for American businesses to reach the 95 percent of the world’s consumers located outside of U.S. borders."

Cybersecurity, rollout of high-speed broadband networks and e-identification services top the list of telecom priorities for the Greek EU Presidency, whose six-month term began Jan. 1, Greece said in a work program. Greece will push to promote measures needed to establish a single digital market, it said. It will promote European Commission plans for cross-border and cross-sector laws that enable safe, reliable and user-friendly electronic transactions, and measures to cut the costs of deploying high-speed networks, it said. It also plans to work on ensuring a high level of network and information security across the EU, it said. The Greek government will “strive to promote” the EC proposal for a single telecom market, it said. Its program also includes work on making public entities’ websites accessible, and reviewing Europe’s digital agenda, it said. The presidency will help define the EU position for the ITU World Telecommunication Development Conference, it said. On satellite issues, it will stress international relations and common minimum standards on rules for access to the public regulated service provided by the global navigation satellite system, it said. On digital content issues, the presidency aims to finalize procedures required for approval of legislation on collective rights management before European Parliament elections in May, said Maria Sinanidou, communications officer for copyright issues. It will also look at the future of copyright and the digital agenda, with a June 6 conference in Athens on current rules and future challenges, she said. Participants will consider how to make content accessible in a digital single market; how to deal with limitations and exceptions to copyright in the digital age and enforcement on the Internet; and future policy recommendations, the conference program said.

NII Holdings, which offers service under the Nextel brand in Mexico and South America, is gaining traction in Brazil, BTIG analyst Walter Piecyk said Tuesday in a research note. “Monthly 3G net additions rose 65 percent sequentially in November to 38,000, likely from the launch of additional neighborhoods in Sao Paulo during the month,” Piecyk wrote. “Investors are hoping that 3G net additions will continue to rise for NIHD as its network expands and marketing efforts kick in. The 3G customers that NII is adding in Brazil also likely carry a higher ARPU [average revenue per user] that could help moderate the mid-teen decline in ARPU driven by price-cuts on its legacy business aimed at lowering churn."