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EU to dampen mobile interference with radios and TVs

EU to dampen mobile interference with radios and TVs

Fri, 2010-05-07 09:15

The EU's technical rules would ensure that radios, handsets and base stations – usually towering wireless antennas that carry cellular networks – would use an 800mhz spectrum band as a result of the "digital switchover" (see 'Background'), without any harmful interference caused to TVs and radios using the same bands, according to a statement from the EU executive.

Countries in the EU will have to adopt certain technical standards to allow more devices to carry wireless services without causing crackling interference on other services, according to a decision taken at the European Commission yesterday (6 May).  

European Union

Press articles

No

High ICT salaries 'hamper EU digital market'

High ICT salaries 'hamper EU digital market'

Wed, 2010-05-05 09:15

"If ICT practitioners are not available or are available but at too high a cost due to market factors, this will make more difficult the uptake of the ICT sector," Anthony Whelan, head of Kroes' cabinet, told an audience of experts at a conference organised yesterday by DigitalEurope, one of the biggest industry lobbies.

If the EU does not solve the e-skills gap, fewer engineers on the market will likely keep salaries high and slow down the digital development in Europe and prevent small and medium size companies to compete in the global economy, said the head of cabinet for EU Information Society Commissioner Neelie Kroes yesterday (4 May). 

European Union

Industry federations and trade unions

Press articles

No

EU on cusp of multimedia missing child alerts

EU on cusp of multimedia missing child alerts

Wed, 2010-05-05 09:12

In an interview with EurActiv, McMillan-Scott said he believes EU broadcasters, new media and telecoms companies will "play ball" in nascent efforts to introduce a more integrated and faster system that will alert both the public and law enforcement agencies when a child has gone missing.

The MEP was approached by the McCanns, who were stunned to find that Portugal had no plan in place to alert the media after their daughter, Maddy, disappeared from their holiday villa in Praia de Luz in the Algarve.

A campaign to introduce an EU-wide missing child alert system using new and traditional media is gaining traction as more countries sign up for funding, Edward McMillan-Scott, a UK Liberal Democrat MEP who has been lobbying on behalf of Gerry and Kate McCann - whose daughter went missing on holiday in Portugal in 2007 - told EurActiv in an interview.

Governments

No

MEP: Media expected to ‘play ball’ in EU missing child network

MEP: Media expected to ‘play ball’ in EU missing child network

Wed, 2010-05-05 08:56

The EU is currently funding pilot projects that will test member states' and the media's ability to send missing children alerts across borders. In an interview with EurActiv, UK Liberal Democrat MEP Edward McMillan-Scott, who was approached by the McCann couple after the disappearance of their daughter Madeleine in 2008, explains how the new system would work.

Picture

Edward McMillan Scott portrait

Edward McMillan Scott portrait

Tue, 2010-05-04 16:55

UK Liberal Democrat MEP Edward McMillan-Scott was speaking to EurActiv's Claire Davenport.

To read a shortened version of this interview, please click here.

Why did the McCanns approach you?

The McCanns' were amazed to discover that the Portugese national authorities had no resources like an alert system to deal with Maddy's disappearance.

No
Person
Edward
McMillan-Scott
Member of European Parliament
UK Liberal Democrat Party

Child protection on the Internet [de]

Child protection on the Internet [de]

First published: 04 May 2010 | Latest updated: 25 May 2010

The protection of children online has become an EU priority as lawmakers wake up to the risks of social networking sites and ramp up the fight against child pornography.

Issues

The majority of Europe's youngsters who go online are regular users of social networking sites such as Facebook, according to a recent Eurobarometer poll.

According to EU data, social networking sites currently have 50 million European users, most of whom are children, teenagers or young people.

EU to establish cybercrime agency

EU to establish cybercrime agency

Wed, 2010-04-28 08:45

On Monday (27 April) EU ministers meeting in Luxembourg asked the European Commission to "assess the feasibility" of setting up a single centre on cybercrime to pool member states' efforts and resources to fight Internet crime.

In the past, the biggest opponents of a centralised EU body on cybercrime have been the UK, Germany and France, who feared an EU agency would tread on the toes of operations already underway in their own countries.

Observers say such a body would have some way to go to get the approval of these three major players in the bloc.

EU ministers have asked the European Commission to assess whether it should set up a centralised agency on tackling cybercrime to prevent online fraud and child pornography.

European Union

International Organisations

No

Google's Buzz 'in step with EU privacy rules'

Google's Buzz 'in step with EU privacy rules'

Mon, 2010-04-26 08:18

The UK is the latest country to join Canada, France, Germany, Spain and five others to complain about a lack of fundamental privacy controls on the site, while the EU is satisfied that Google's Buzz is in step with EU data protection principles.

As far as the EU is concerned, as long as users' data is not used without their prior and tacit consent, then Buzz has not broken any laws.

Gmail users are automatically signed up to the Buzz site unless they intentionally opt-out.

The European Commission has said that Google's Buzz is in line with the bloc's data protection guidelines, while 10 national regulators from Canada to the UK are demanding that Google must change the privacy controls of the social networking site.

European Union

Business & Industry

Press articles

No

Europe’s music industry could flourish with improved copyright rules

Europe’s music industry could flourish with improved copyright rules

Fri, 2010-04-23 10:42

The European Commission should work to develop a Collective Rights Management model that is "fit for the digital era and will enable everyone to access music in a legitimate, transparent and efficient manner," writes Nicolas Galibert, chair of the International Confederation of Music Publishers (ICMP) and president of Sony ATV Music Publishing France.  

The following contribution was produced by Nicolas Galibert.  

"The public hearing of 23 April on the Governance of Collective Rights Management in the EU will explore the relationship between rights managers, members and users and consider the most effective approach to the management of online rights in the new digital age.

Person
Nicolas
Galibert
Chair
International Confederation of Music Publishers (ICMP)
No

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