A piece in DigiDay yesterday draws attention to the fact that publishers are at risk under the draft ePrivacy Regulation under consideration in Brussels. At this time, the draft Regulation is in a state of flux, and the outcome is hard to know, with a possible tightening of the current requirements on cookies. Under the current ePrivacy Directive, often referred to as the “Cookie Directive” publishers merely need to get consent, by having readers click a box that they consent to the use of cookies.  As the DigiDay article points out, the new regulation could empower browsers to play more of a gatekeeper role, which is one of several possible outcomes. SIIA has been active in highlighting the problems for European policymakers.  On July 1, 2016, we filed comments arguing that the proposal should not be extended to software and digital content publishers and over-the-top-content providers, who would continue to be regulated under the more flexible rules of th ...

Readers of this blog will know that the SIIA and Thomson Reuters-supported Atlantic Council study: Into the Clouds: European SMEs and the Digital Age” was released on October 10 at Aspen Berlin/Germany on October 10.  We followed up in Brussels on October 12 with a lively DIGITALEUROPE workshop and a well-attended Transatlantic Policy Network dinner.  In addition, I met with German and European Commission officials this week.  A few takeaways from these events and meetings follow.  Cloud adoption rates are variable in Europe and surprisingly low in Germany.  Low adoption in Germany derives in part from continuing surveillance concerns but is perhaps equally caused by a preference for in-house solutions, even by SMEs.  Localization of data in-country remains a preference of many German companies and cloud providers increasingly provide that option to their customers who are evidently willing to pay a premium for that service.   The Commissi ...

On December 4, 2015 DIGITALEUROPE hosted a workshop with the European Center for International Political (ECIPE) and SIIA on a recent ECIPE report written by Erik van der Marel.  Van der Marel explains the importance of “complementary policy” in unleashing greater productivity growth resulting from the use of Information and Communications Technology (ICT) in the EU.  By complementary policy, ECIPE means especially trade freedom, product market regulations, non-resident patent filings, general property rights protection, the strength of legal rights in general, R&D spending (particularly from abroad), and a number of other factors.  The special importance of trade openness (including data flows), investment openness (R&D investments and patent applications financed from abroad), and intellectual property rights (IPRs) is no surprise to SIIA.  Policymakers should review Van der Marel’s document carefully.