(Dieser Artikel ist auch in deutscher Sprache verfügbar)

Peter Hustinx, the European Data Protection Supervisor (EDPS) wants privacy and data protection requirements to be considered in the future EU research and technological development (RTD) projects, especially those developing information and communication technologies.

The EDPS' main role is to monitor EU developments which have an impact on the protection of personal data, especially the development of ICT and "to advise the Commission and/or project developers on their efforts to use privacy and data protection-friendly RTD methodologies and of course to develop technologies and processes that will promote and reinforce the effectiveness of the EU data protection legal framework".

(Dieser Artikel ist auch in deutscher Sprache verfügbar)

The European Data Protection Supervisor (EDPS) has issued his opinion on the new draft text of the Directive on Privacy and Electronic Communications (ePrivacy Directive) as proposed by the European Commission.

One of the important changes supported by the EDPS with the new text is the creation of a mandatory security breach notification system. The system should require the Telecoms and ISPs to notify their customers when personal information has been lost. But Peter Hustinx wants to go further and asked for the system to apply not only to "providers of public electronic communication services in public networks but also to other actors, especially to providers of information society services which process

(Dieser Artikel ist auch in deutscher Sprache verfügbar)

The 9th meeting of the Council of Europe (CoE) group of specialists on Human Rights in the Information Society (MC-S-IS) was held in Strasbourg from 31 March to 2 April 2008. At the same time, on 1-2 April, another division of the CoE was holding in a building across the street its 2008 Octopus conference on cooperation against cybercrime. This schedule overlapping is not the only sign that CoE's left hand seems to ignore what its right hand is doing: different divisions are also addressing same issues, though from different points of view and with different results.

It happened this time with the guidelines for Internet Service Providers (ISPs). While the Octopus conference was discussing and then adopting its

(Dieser Artikel ist auch in deutscher Sprache verfügbar)

Commissioner Charlie McCreevy's announcement in February 2008 that he proposes to nearly double the term of copyright protection for sound recordings from 50 to 95 years came as a shock to UK digital rights campaigners. Back in 2006, here in the UK, the case against copyright term extension was robustly made - by campaigners such as my organisation, the Open Rights Group, and more importantly, by economists from one of the UK's leading universities. It led to a firm commitment from our Government that they would never seek to extend copyright term retrospectively.

There is no case for copyright term extension. Term extension would reduce, yet again, the size of the public domain, harming public

(Dieser Artikel ist auch in deutscher Sprache verfügbar)

The European Commission (EC) announced on 11 March 2008 that it has cleared the Google-DoubleClick deal after its investigation made according with the EU Merger Regulation.

The decision of the EC considered that "found that Google and DoubleClick were not exerting major competitive constraints on each other's activities and could, therefore, not be considered as competitors at the moment. Even if DoubleClick could become an effective competitor in online intermediation services, it is likely that other competitors would continue to exert sufficient competitive pressure after the merger. The Commission therefore concluded that the elimination of DoubleClick as a potential competitor

(Dieser Artikel ist auch in deutscher Sprache verfügbar)

The European Commission (EC) has closed the enquiry against Apple for charging more UK users than other EU users for downloads of its iTunes music, following the company announcement on 9 January 2008 that it will reduce download prices for UK within 6 months to align them with prices in continental Europe.

A formal investigation had been opened by the EC against Apple after 'Which?', a UK consumer protection organisation, filed a complaint in September 2004 against the company who was applying 20% higher prices to British users than for the other European users. The difference has decreased in time reaching down to 6% and, following discussions between Competition Commissioner Neelie Kroes and Apple chief executive Steve Jobs,

(Dieser Artikel ist auch in deutscher Sprache verfügbar)

As a result of a complaint made by the Norwegian web browser developer Opera Software ASA, the European Commission will examine under the antitrust regulation Microsoft's abuse in distributing the browser Internet Explorer with the Windows operating system.

Opera Software states that Microsoft does not follow accepted web standards and therefore hinders programme developers in making programs that work with each other. In spite its many innovations in the field, the Norwegian company, although successful in making browsers for mobile phones, has failed to gain a share of the browser market on the Internet which is dominated by Microsoft's Internet Explorer. "Microsoft's unilateral control

(Dieser Artikel ist auch in deutscher Sprache verfügbar)

Pending the approval of its Committee of Ministers, the Council of Europe will try to promote a new broadcasting international document, building on the failed convention for the protection of broadcasting signals of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO).

As WIPO's 184 members have failed in agreeing upon a text for the treaty and as the conference for a full negotiation planned for November 2007 was postponed at the request of several member states and the European Broadcasting Union, the Council of Europe intends to proceed on reinforcing the initial WIPO recommendations on the matter. "I suspect that Council of Europe member states would be very happy if the WIPO deadlock were overcome