Internet Policy and Governance
Opinion factsheet
Na ovoj stranici
- Enterprise and Industry
Opinion number:
CDR-2448-2014
Status:
Usvojeno
Objective
The information and communication technologies should include the needs of all members of society, including those risking social exclusion;
Local and regional authorities are fully and effectively involved in the governance of ICT-related initiatives and in the collection of data on cybercrime statistics and in the training of personnel;
When further developing the infrastructures and services under the new Digital Agenda for Europe, optimum levels of privacy and protection of personal data are ensured;
The introduction across Europe of the principle that people's details and the details of objects be registered once only, without the need for repeated form-filling;
Training should be provided for all staff, particularly specialist technicians, staff working directly with security procedures involving different methodologies and staff generally or indirectly involved in innovation and modernisation drives on trust and security related issues;
Further activities should be aimed at stimulating and encouraging the development and application of technical solutions for dealing with illegal content and harmful conduct online, as well as at promoting cooperation and exchange of best practice among a wide range of stakeholders at local, regional, European and international level.
Local and regional authorities are fully and effectively involved in the governance of ICT-related initiatives and in the collection of data on cybercrime statistics and in the training of personnel;
When further developing the infrastructures and services under the new Digital Agenda for Europe, optimum levels of privacy and protection of personal data are ensured;
The introduction across Europe of the principle that people's details and the details of objects be registered once only, without the need for repeated form-filling;
Training should be provided for all staff, particularly specialist technicians, staff working directly with security procedures involving different methodologies and staff generally or indirectly involved in innovation and modernisation drives on trust and security related issues;
Further activities should be aimed at stimulating and encouraging the development and application of technical solutions for dealing with illegal content and harmful conduct online, as well as at promoting cooperation and exchange of best practice among a wide range of stakeholders at local, regional, European and international level.
Impact
The CoR Opinion on "Internet Policy and Governance" emphasises that the development of the internet as a technology-based area of human coexistence and data exchange, is inseparable from the values underpinning human relations, and therefore the EU's role in policies on improving the internet is cannot be separated from its fundamental values.
The opinion also emphasises the importance of the internet as a medium for maintaining and promoting cultural diversity, which is one of the European Union's fundamental values; therefore its role in internet governance policy must continue to reflect, preserve and promote cultural and linguistic diversity.
The opinion also emphasises the importance of the internet as a medium for maintaining and promoting cultural diversity, which is one of the European Union's fundamental values; therefore its role in internet governance policy must continue to reflect, preserve and promote cultural and linguistic diversity.
Essential points
THE COMMITTEE OF THE REGIONS points out that:
- The European Union should be actively involved in the process of developing global internet governance, in order to consolidate and strengthen its role as an exemplary and responsible actor;
- The CoR welcomes the Commission's initiatives in clarifying the EU's role in global internet governance policy, as well as European Commission president Jean-Claude Juncker's declared objective of creating a digital single market and a unified digital agenda;
- The European approach towards the future of the internet shall be based on the basic principles of the EU - freedom, openness and neutrality;
- The more than 100 000 local and regional authorities representing the 28 EU Member States' tier of sub-national governance are key internet policy players, not only as developers of internet content but also in relation to improving internet access; in view of this, they should be given adequate scope for direct involvement at both national and European level in the process of formulating a European position on global internet governance policy issues;
- Public institutions, including local and regional authorities, can and should be pioneers in building a secure internet and setting high standards for its responsible use, for example by ensuring adequate protection of confidential personal data (which includes deleting data that are no longer needed for a specific purpose) or tackling cybercrime and putting in place the conditions for its prevention, including appropriate protection of ICT systems;
- Calls on the Commission to make efforts to ensure that structural power abuses made by IT companies are prevented worldwide;
- Calls for adequate answers to the challenges of cyber bullying, - the often anonymous activities enabled by electronic media – which while not always criminal, have huge potential to offend the human dignity of others, especially children, as well as other vulnerable social groups.