European Telecom, Civil Society Groups Seek Candidates Strong on Digital Issues
With European Parliament elections May 22-25, and European Commission members changing in the fall, some telecom and civil society organizations are working to ensure that their issues remain high on the agenda of the bodies, they said. They may not be backing specific EC or parliamentary candidates, but they have made clear what they want from the winners.
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European Digital Rights (EDRi) is running a “We Promise” campaign (www.WePromise.eu) urging parliamentary candidates to support digital rights issues and citizens to vote for those who do. EDRi “set a very tough challenge for ourselves,” Executive Director Joe McNamee told us. The campaign is built around a “digital rights charter” that covers 10 diverse topics, making it less than a straightforward matter for candidates to agree to, he said. Guy Verhofstadt, leader of the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe party, and one of the five people running for EC president, Monday signed the digital rights charter and shot a video for it, McNamee told us. As of Monday the EDRi campaign had attracted just under 400 candidates, including an Irish ex-telecom minister and a former French culture minister, he said.
Candidates who sign the digital rights charter promise to: (1) Promote transparency, access to documents and citizen participation. (2) Support data protection and privacy legislation. (3) Defend unrestricted access to the Internet and online services. (4) Promote an update of copyright legislation to include more exceptions to copyright protections. (5) Refuse to support blanket, unchecked surveillance measures. (6) Promote online anonymity and encryption. (7) Not support privatized enforcement of alleged online infringements outside the rule of law. (8) Support export controls on surveillance and censorship technology. (9) Defend the principle of multistakeholderism. (10) Promote open source software.
Digital issues are also key for the European Telecommunications Network Operators’ Association. In a May 16 letter to the five candidates for European Commission president (http://bit.ly/SalpqF), ETNO Executive Board Chairman Luigi Gambardella said the organization “welcomes the presence of digital policies among the priorities included in the programmes for the next term,” and strongly believes sound digital policies should head the list of policy actions undertaken by the next EC president. “The reason is simple,” he said: “We are convinced that digital is the new goldmine for both our society and economy."
Among other things, ETNO pressed for a “step change” in EU digital policies, including a new digital agenda. The agenda should try to recapture European leadership in the mobile arena, and build an open innovation model, Gambardella said. He also asked new EU commissioners to “stimulate demand in a holistic way” via smarter cities, cars, homes and digital public administrations, and said Europeans should be handed back control of their own personal data while businesses are allowed access to big data.
The Alliance for Lobbying Transparency and Ethics Regulation (ALTER-EU), a coalition of about 200 civil society groups, trade unions, academics and public affairs firms, launched an April campaign urging European Parliament candidates to “stand up for citizens and democracy against the excessive lobbying influence of banks and big business.” One key issue in the “Politics for People” campaign is EU trade deals, such as the proposed Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership, that “consistently put profits before people,” said Max Bank of LobbyControl in Cologne, an ALTER-EU steering committee member. As of May 14, more than 1,000 candidates had taken the pledge, ALTER-EU said. There is also a lot of lobbying going on regarding the European Parliament and Commission on the issues of telecommunications/Internet and data protection, Bank told us.
The GSM Association isn’t actively lobbying, but will “work together with the new Parliament and Commission to advocate that digital should be high on their agenda and they should be committed to complete the Digital Single Market,” a spokeswoman said. EuroISPA, comprised of European Internet services providers’ associations, said it “hasn’t any political coloration” and doesn’t plan to support a specific EU commissioner or parliamentary candidate.
Vodafone said its policy is “not to make political donations or support particular party political interests,” but rather to engage with regulators and governments on issues relevant to its company and industry. The European Publishers Council said it’s not lobbying potential candidates on copyright issues, but leaving it to “democratic processes.” The International Federation for the Phonographic Industry said it looks forward to meeting with new Parliament and EC members later this year.