Internet Guides

Digital Agenda Review - new digital priorities for 2013-2014 by EUbusiness — last modified 19 December 2012, 00:20 CET

The European Commission has adopted seven new priorities for the digital economy and society. The digital economy is growing at seven times the rate of the rest of the economy, but the Commission says this potential is currently held back by a patchy pan-European policy framework. Today's priorities follow a comprehensive policy review and place new emphasis on the most transformative elements of the original 2010 Digital Agenda for Europe.

Sweep on online games, books, videos and music by EUbusiness — last modified 06 December 2012, 17:54 CET

The European Commission has today published the results of an EU wide screening of websites selling games, books, videos and music which can be downloaded to a computer or mobile device. The check shows that over 75% of these websites do not appear to comply with consumer protection rules. This is particularly concerning where vulnerable consumers, such as children, are targeted. Users have to click their way through a maze of contract terms, to find out how much they will eventually have to pay and children are frequently lured into purchasing items related to supposedly free games. In case of a problem, reaching the after-sales service is often difficult as contact information is missing in more than one third of the websites. National enforcement authorities will now contact the companies concerned to enable them to clarify their position or correct their website.

Making government websites accessible for all by EUbusiness — last modified 04 December 2012, 14:29 CET

Over 100 million EU citizens would find it easier to use online public services to look for a job, register a car, submit a tax declaration and apply for a passport or driving license thanks to new rules proposed by the European Commission on 4 December, the International Day of People with Disability.

Global Alliance against child sexual abuse online by EUbusiness — last modified 04 December 2012, 14:11 CET

The Global Alliance against child sexual abuse online is a joint initiative primarily from the EU and the US reaching out to third countries. The Global Alliance builds upon the successful work of the EU-US Working Group on cyber-security and cyber-crime, where the fight against child online abuse has been identified as a key priority. The Alliance was endorsed by EU Member States in the Council conclusions on 7 June 2012, and by the US in the EU-US Joint Statement on 21 June 2012.

EU cloud computing board begins work by EUbusiness — last modified 20 November 2012, 13:45 CET

The Steering Board of the new European Cloud Partnership (ECP) met for the first time in Brussels on 19 November, kicking-off a process where public authorities and industry work together to help building the EU Digital Single Market for cloud computing pursuant to the European Cloud Computing Strategy. Specifically, the ECP aims at leveraging the public sector's buying power to shape the growing and maturing market for cloud computing services. Chaired by Toomas Hendrik Ilves, President of Estonia, the board brings together tech Chief Executive Officers and government representatives with responsibility for IT procurement. The board will deliver strategic advice to Commission Vice President Neelie Kroes.

Statement of Objections to Microsoft on non-compliance with browser choice commitments by EUbusiness — last modified 24 October 2012, 13:21 CET

The European Commission has informed Microsoft of its preliminary view that Microsoft has failed to comply with its commitments to offer users a choice screen enabling them to easily choose their preferred web browser. In 2009, the Commission had made these commitments legally binding on Microsoft. The sending of a statement of objections does not prejudge the final outcome of the investigation.

Online gambling in the Internal Market by EUbusiness — last modified 23 October 2012, 17:38 CET

The European Commission today unveiled an action plan, with a series of initiatives over the next two years aimed at clarifying the regulation of online gambling and encouraging cooperation between EU Member States. Online gambling is one of the fastest growing service activities in the EU, with annual growth rates of almost 15% and an estimated EUR 13 billion in annual revenues in 2015.

Orphan works by EUbusiness — last modified 04 October 2012, 20:06 CET

Orphan Works are works which are protected by copyright but whose creators cannot be identified or found. The new Directive on Orphan Works will provide Europe's libraries, archives, film heritage institutions, public broadcasters and other organisations acting in the public interest with the appropriate legal framework to provide on-line cross-border access to orphan works contained in their collections. The Directive is a central element of the Commission's strategy to create an enabling framework for the use of intellectual property announced in its intellectual property strategy adopted in May 2011.

Cyber Europe 2012 by EUbusiness — last modified 04 October 2012, 16:33 CET

Hundreds of cyber security experts from across the EU are testing their readiness to combat cyber-attacks in a day-long simulation across Europe today. In Cyber Europe 2012, 400 experts from major financial institutions, telecoms companies, internet service providers and local and national governments across Europe are facing more than 1200 separate cyber incidents (including more than 30 000 emails) during a simulated distributed denial of service (DDoS) campaign. The exercise is testing how they would respond and co-operate in the event of sustained attacks against the public websites and computer systems of major European banks. If real, such an attack would cause massive disruption for millions of citizens and businesses across Europe, and millions of euros of damage to the EU economy.

Cloud computing: new strategy to drive European business and government productivity by EUbusiness — last modified 27 September 2012, 13:51 CET

The European Commission's new strategy for "Unleashing the potential of cloud computing in Europe" outlines actions to deliver a net gain of 2.5 million new European jobs, and an annual boost of EUR 160 billion to EU GDP (around 1%), by 2020. The strategy is designed to speed up and increase the use of cloud computing across the economy. 'Cloud computing' refers to the storage of data (such as text files, pictures and video) and software on remote computers, which users access over the internet on the device of their choice. This is faster, cheaper, more flexible and potentially more secure than on-site IT solutions. Many popular services such as Facebook, Spotify and web-based email use cloud computing technologies but the real economic benefits come through widespread use of cloud solutions by businesses and the public sector.

Proposed Directive on collective management of copyright and related rights and multi-territorial licensing - guide by EUbusiness — last modified 12 July 2012, 12:40 CET

The European Commission has proposed measures to modernise collecting societies and put in place incentives to promote their transparency and efficiency. New digital technologies are opening up great opportunities for creators, consumers and businesses alike.

Digital Agenda Scoreboard - need for structural economic reform across Europe and surplus of ICT jobs by EUbusiness — last modified 19 June 2012, 12:04 CET

Europe's citizens, businesses and innovator s are generating enough digital demand to put Europe into sustainable economic growth, but failure to supply enough fast internet, online content, research and relevant skills is undermining this potential. Greater data consumption and a shift to mobile technologies (such as smartphones) and mobile services (such as 3G internet, music streaming and webmail) are the most significant trends in the information & communications technologies (ICT) sector, which now accounts for 8 million jobs and 6% of EU GDP.

Electronic identification, signatures and trust services - guide by EUbusiness — last modified 05 June 2012, 22:48 CET

The European Commission has proposed new rules to enable cross-border and secure electronic transactions in Europe. The proposed Regulation will ensure people and businesses can use their own national electronic identification schemes (e-IDs) to access public services in other EU countries where e-IDs are available. It also creates an internal market for e-Signatures and related online trust services across borders, by ensuring these services will work across borders and have the same legal status as traditional paper based processes. This will give full effect to the major potential savings of eProcurement. The proposal fully respects both existing national ID systems and the preferences of those Member States without national ID schemes. It allows countries with e-ID to opt-in or to remain outside of the European scheme. Once a Member State notifies that they wish to join the pan-European scheme, they must offer the same access to public services via e-ID that they offer to their own citizens.

A strategy for e-Procurement - guide by EUbusiness — last modified 26 April 2012, 16:55 CET

In the context of the modernisation of the European Public procurement Directives, adopted in December 2011, the European Commission has proposed to make e-procurement the rule rather than the exception, by making it the standard method of procurement in the EU by mid-2016.

Data protection reform - guide by EUbusiness — last modified 25 January 2012, 15:13 CET

The European Commission has today proposed a comprehensive reform of the EU's 1995 data protection rules to strengthen online privacy rights and boost Europe's digital economy. Technological progress and globalisation have profoundly changed the way our data is collected, accessed and used. In addition, the 27 EU Member States have implemented the 1995 rules differently, resulting in divergences in enforcement. A single law will do away with the current fragmentation and costly administrative burdens, leading to savings for businesses of around €2.3 billion a year. The initiative will help reinforce consumer confidence in online services, providing a much needed boost to growth, jobs and innovation in Europe.

Communication on e-commerce - guide by EUbusiness — last modified 11 January 2012, 15:57 CET

The European Commission has adopted a Communication presenting 16 targeted initiatives aimed at doubling the share of e-commerce in retail sales (currently 3.4 %) and that of the Internet sector in European GDP (currently less than 3 %) by 2015.

Recommendation on the digitisation of cultural material and its preservation online - guide by EUbusiness — last modified 29 October 2011, 00:23 CET

The European Commission has adopted a Recommendation asking EU Member States to step up their efforts, pool their resources and involve the private sector in digitising cultural material. This is seen as essential to make European cultural heritage more widely available and to boost growth in Europe's creative industries. The digitised material should be made available through Europeana, Europe's digital library, archive and museum.

Connecting Europe Facility - guide by EUbusiness — last modified 19 October 2011, 22:46 CET

The European Commission has today tabled a plan which will fund €50 billion worth of investment to improve Europe's transport, energy and digital networks. Targeted investments in key infrastructures will help to create jobs and boost Europe's competitiveness at a time when Europe needs this most. The "Connecting Europe Facility" will finance projects which fill the missing links in Europe's energy, transport and digital backbone. It will also make Europe's economy greener by promoting cleaner transport modes, high speed broadband connections and facilitating the use of renewable energy in line with the Europe 2020 Strategy. In addition the funding for energy networks will further integrate the internal energy market, reduce the EU's energy dependency and bolster the security of supply.

EU Sweep investigation - buying tickets online - guide by EUbusiness — last modified 29 September 2011, 16:42 CET

Buying tickets for music and sporting events on the internet is now much less likely to end in tears, following a crackdown on problematic websites which sold tickets to non-existent events or which failed to explain whether the buyer would get a refund or not, if the event was cancelled. 88% of the websites selling tickets for cultural and sporting events, checked for breach of EU consumer rules, now comply with EU law (compared with only 40% in 2010), and further improvements can be expected as cases are brought to the courts. The EU co-ordinated "Sweep" investigation was launched in September 2010 by national authorities in all Member States, Norway and Iceland. The problems identified included: incomplete or misleading information about the price of tickets; unfair terms and conditions; incomplete or misleading information about the trader. Sites have been corrected, usually voluntarily, but in some cases penalties were imposed.

Protecting Children in the Digital World - Commission Report on the Protection of Minors by EUbusiness — last modified 13 September 2011, 16:28 CET

How Member States are implementing EU Recommendations ensuring children can enjoy the digital world confidently and safely are reviewed by the European Commission in a report presented today. Member States and industry are increasingly making efforts to implement EU Recommendations dating from 1998 and 2006 on the protection of minors using audiovisual and online services. But the measures taken have been insufficient overall.