lunes, 11 de abril de 2011

Information Society Newsroom Update Weekly - 11/04/2011

Weekly Issue - 11 April 2011

Latest News

PRESS RELEASE
Digital Agenda: "Dot.eu" internet domain name helps small businesses gain Single Market visibility

(7 April 2011) 7th April 2011 marks the fifth birthday of the ".eu" ("Dot.eu") internet domain name. ".eu" has become the 9th biggest top-level domain (TLD) on the Internet, the 5th most popular country code top-level domain worldwide and ranks in 4th place in Europe. Having a ".eu" domain is especially beneficial to small and medium-sized companies as it raises their profile on European markets by providing them with a pan-European identity on the Internet. Registrations for a ".eu" domain have grown every year since its introduction and now reach almost 3.5 million.

PRESS RELEASE
Neelie Kroes: Smart tags - working together to protect privacy

(6 April 2011) European Commission Vice President Neelie Kroes has signed a voluntary agreement with industry, civil society, ENISA and privacy and data protection watchdogs to establish guidelines for all companies in Europe to address the data protection implications of smart tags (Radio Frequency Identification Devices - RFID) prior to placing them on the market. "Today we put consumers' privacy at the centre of RFID smart tag technology," Neelie Kroes told a Brussels audience. The agreement establishes for the first time in Europe a clear methodology to assess and mitigate the privacy risks of smart tags that can be applied by all industry sectors that use smart tags (for example, transport, logistics, the retail trade, ticketing, security and health care) to ensure their compliance with EU data protection rules. "What we celebrate today is not only the successful completion of a challenging task, 'how to protect the privacy of European citizens when using RFID', it is potentially also the start of a new policy approach, in fact a new commitment to involving all stakeholders in the process of solving privacy problems", Kroes concluded.

PRESS RELEASE
Digital Agenda: new guidelines to address privacy concerns over use of smart tags

(6 April 2011) Today the European Commission has signed a voluntary agreement with industry, civil society, ENISA (European Network and Information Security Agency) and privacy and data protection watchdogs in Europe to establish guidelines for all companies in Europe to address the data protection implications of smart tags (Radio Frequency Identification Devices - RFID) prior to placing them on the market. The use of such smart tags is expanding enormously (around 1 billion in Europe in 2011) but there are widespread concerns about their privacy implications. RFIDs can be found in many objects from bus passes to smart cards that pay motorway tolls. Microelectronic devices can process data automatically from RFID tags when brought close to 'readers' that activate them, pick up their radio signal and exchange data with them. Today's agreement forms part of the implementation of a Commission Recommendation adopted in 2009 that inter alia indicates that when consumers buy products with smart tags, they should be deactivated automatically, immediately and free-of-charge unless the consumer agrees explicitly that they are not.

PRESS RELEASE
Digital Agenda: better protection of Italian consumers against unwanted telemarketing calls; European Commission closes legal action

(6 April 2011) Italian telephone subscribers are now better protected from receiving annoying unsolicited telemarketing phone calls thanks to European Commission action to ensure the proper application of EU rules. Italy has now complied with its obligations under the EU Directive on privacy and electronic communications by implementing a new opt-out system which ensures that Italian citizens whose numbers are listed in public telephone directories do not receive unsolicited phone calls for marketing purposes. The change results from the opening of an infringement procedure against Italy by the Commission, which has now been closed.

PRESS RELEASE
Digital Agenda: Latvia ensures independence of national telecoms regulators; Commission closes infringement case

(6 April 2011) Consumers and businesses in Latvia now enjoy better safeguards against unfair competition on telecoms markets following steps taken by Latvia to comply with EU rules on the independence of the national telecoms regulators, in response to an infringement case opened by the European Commission. In particular, Latvia has now ensured a clear separation between the bodies which make telecoms rules and those which provide telecoms services by transferring telecoms regulatory functions regarding radio frequencies and numbering from the Ministry of Transport to the Ministry of Environmental Protection and Regional Development. This separation, also known as structural separation, is essential to preserve the impartiality of national telecoms regulators, guaranteeing fair regulation for consumers and businesses and maintaining competition. The Commission has therefore closed its infringement case against Latvia, which it opened in 2008.

PRESS RELEASE
EU and US agree trade-related information and communication technology principles to be promoted world-wide

(4 April 2011) The European Commission and the US Government, under the framework of the Transatlantic Economic Council (TEC), have agreed on a set of ten fundamental principles for trade in information and communication technology (ICT) services. The EU and the US, in cooperation with other countries, will promote these principles worldwide in order to support the global development of ICT networks & services and allow service providers to compete for contracts with local incumbents on an equal footing. European Commission Vice-President for the Digital Agenda Neelie Kroes and EU Trade Commissioner Karel De Gucht welcomed these principles as an important milestone in implementing the Commission's Future Trade Policy Communication and Europe's Digital Agenda.

EVENT ANNOUNCEMENT
Fibre networks: Demand and analyses of costs and benefits

6 June 2011 - 7 June 2011 Berlin, Germany

This event will address key issues related to fibre networks and their use, focusing on demand aspects and the assessment of costs and benefits.

CALL FOR PROPOSALS
4th call for proposals of the AAL Joint Programme: "ICT based solutions for Advancement of Older Persons' Mobility"

(Deadline: 30/06/2011) The call aims at ICT based solutions which help older persons to sustain their optimal level of mobility for as long as possible, enhancing their individual sense of confidence, autonomy, competence, security and safety. The call addresses issues that inherently enable older persons' mobility in the sense of moving in the home and/or outside the home. The Call was launched on 31 March 2011. The deadline is 30 June 2011 17h00.

EVENT ANNOUNCEMENT
Workshop: Removing the roadblocks to a pan European market for Public Sector Information re-use

10 May 2011 - 11 May 2011 Brussels

Over the last two years, the publication of public sector data on the Web has picked up significant momentum. Within the public sector information community, growing support for Open Data principles and technological choices such as Linked Data is emerging. At the same time, others in the public sector information space are struggling with basic steps. Issues around data provenance, data quality, and the ability to mix public sector information across different countries (often generated for different purposes) are often ill-understood. This workshop is organized within the context of Share-PSI.eu, a multistakeholder initiative toward the Digital Agenda for Europe initiated by W3C and ETSI. Results will be presented at the Digital Agenda Assembly in Brussels (16/17 June 2011). Participants must submit a position paper by 15 April 2011.

NEWS ARTICLE
Consultation: Green Paper on a Common Strategic Framework for future EU Research and Innovation Funding

(6 April 2011) On 9 February the Commission adopted a Green Paper 'From Challenges to Opportunities: Towards a Common Strategic Framework for EU research and innovation funding' (COM(2011)48). This Green Paper launches a public consultation on the key issues to be taken into account for future EU research and innovation funding programmes.

See also: The consultation website

NEWS ARTICLE
The European Union's policy approach to the ITU World Radio Communications Conference 2012

(6 April 2011) The Commission has proposed common policy objectives for the World Radio Communications Conference 2012 to the Council and European Parliament. The text highlights the importance of promoting the EU's approach to the digital dividend, Galileo and the Single European Sky air traffic management system in order to ensure that the necessary spectrum is coordinated and protected at the international level.

NEWS ARTICLE
Call for ServiceWave2011 Workshop Proposals

(5 April 2011) The ServiceWave conference series provides a forum for practitioners and researchers to exchange and discuss the most recent innovations, trends, experiences and concerns for the Future Internet. ServiceWave fosters cross-community excellence by bringing together industrial and academic experts from various disciplines, including but not limited to Internet of Content (IoC), Internet of Services (IoS), Internet of Things (IoT) and Networks of the Future (NoF). Following the success of the ServiceWave workshops of previous years, ServiceWave 2011 will again feature workshops that bring together different communities to discuss emerging issues and relevant aspects of the Future Internet. The submission deadline for workshop proposals is 30 May 2011.

See also: Further information for workshop proposals

Reminders

EVENT ANNOUNCEMENT
Eris@ Annual conference 2011

12 April 2011 - 14 April 2011 Krakow, Poland

This year's conference will focus on progress with regional deployment and uptake of broadband. The event is organised by Eris@, an association of European regions who want to accelerate the impact of ICT on the quality of life of their citizens, business profitability and government processes.

Contact: info@erisa.be

ICT 2011 Proposers' Day - Budapest, 19-20 May

REGISTRATION IS NOW OPEN!

ICT 2011 proposers'day Banner

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