Information Policy

France considering new rules for web 2.0

A French Parliamentary report suggests a change in the law (LCEN) that implements the European Directive on e-commerce in order to make clearer the distinction between editing and hosting activities in the new applications related to Web 2.0.

The report of the Deputy Jean Dionis du Séjour on the application of the LCEN was updated on 16 April 2008, after the first version was submitted to the Parliament on 23 January. The update concerns some of the latest court decisions in France that established the responsibility of some websites for others' RSS feeds or for user-generated content. The report specifies that the law has created a hosting status that is different from that of an editor and that "this distinction must not be emptied by the court decisions."

The report also claims that the law needs to be changed in order to comply with the new applications available, such as hosting collaboratives websites or online auctions. This could be helpful in order to avoid the situation already presented in EDRi-gram, when Paris Tribunal condemned 3 different French websites for linking to another website containing gossip information on a French actor.

But the report also suggests increasing the obligations on the hosting companies, especially by making public the methods used to fight illegal activities, that would prove their good will. This provision could be enforced by an independent authority, like the French Data Protection Authority (CNIL).

But the French Government does not seem to share this opinion. The new State Secretary in charge with information society, Eric Besson, made clear in the first public appearance that he didn't think that the law needed to be changed. "I will not be the Minister of Internet castration" he declared in a public meeting to Dailymotion, one of the biggest video-sharing French websites.

Since Mr. Besson has an objective to present to the French Government by 31 July 2008 the new plan on information society, he may discuss also the problems of the new type of applications on the Internet.

http://www.edri.org/edrigram/number6.8/france-rules-web2.0

Microsoft walks away from Yahoo deal

Microsoft Chief Executive Steve Ballmer vowed last week not to pay "a penny" more than he thought Yahoo was worth, and he kept his word Saturday. After intense weekend negotiations stalemated on price, with Microsoft raising its bid by $5 billion and Yahoo demanding twice that, he walked away from what would have been one of the biggest technology deals ever.

http://www.siliconvalley.com/news/ci_9148992?nclick_check=1

Online Payment Scams Growing in Europe According to EU Report

As the Internet increases in range and wealth of business opportunities, so do criminals up their efforts to develop more sophisticated and effective ways to scam online. Net credit card fraud is growing in Europe, according to an official European Commission report on the web sector, called "Report on fraud regarding non cash means of payments in the EU: the implementation of the 2004-2007 EU Action Plan.? The report sums up the problem, saying: ?Fraud against means of payment (payment fraud) remains a threat to the success of the internal market for payments. Payment fraud affects the consumer confidence in non-cash means of payment and ultimately the real economy.?

http://www.ibls.com/internet_law_news_portal_view.aspx?s=latestnews&id=2049

Internet Economy Surges Despite Global Slowdown

Despite repeated reports of bad economic news in many sectors, the Internet continues its global expansion, giving great comfort to those still trying to understand what a world marketplace with a dwindling oil supply will look like. While some segments of the U.S. economy are slowing, online sales are growing, and recent figures show that e-commerce transactions are growing four or five times faster than traditional retail, according to Rob Atkinson, president of the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation. Atkinson made his comments at a recent forum on the state of the Internet economy at Google's brand new Washington D.C. office.

Bearing in mind the Web as a major player is not yet two-decades old, Information Technology (IT) which includes the Internet, is now the major driver of economic growth in the U.S., according to Atkinson. Dismissing the idea that Net commerce suffered a wild collapse in the early 2000's from an "Internet Bubble," Atkinson said, "The Internet is not a bubble. A lot of dumb, bad companies went out of business [earlier in the decade], but the industry continued to grow." Atkinson added, "There's absolutely no evidence that somehow, we're at the end of the IT revolution. I think we've got a minimum of 10 or 15 years, maybe a lot longer."

Despite fears of another Internet slowdown, the state of the Internet economy is strong. Online retail sales, excluding travel, reached $175 billion in 2007, up 21% over 2006. According to analysts, online sales to exceed $200 billion this year and should exceed $300 billion by 2011.

Hal Varian, a Professor turned in-house Goggle economist spoke at the forum. Said Varian, "The lesson you learn from looking at query patterns on Google is, yes, we're seeing an economic slowdown, but no, that's not an Internet slowdown.. The Internet is still looking pretty strong, compared to most of these other sectors." Varian says an analysis of search queries at Google shows insightful data about the state-of-mind of Net users. For example, job-related searches have increased while real-estate and luxury goods searches are down. This is exactly what you'd expect to find in a "recessionary environment," claims Varian. Yet, overall, the sum total number of searches on all topics is growing "very dramatically," states Varian.

Panelist Edwin Garrubbo, chairman of the Electronic Retailing Association, claims there is no slowing down the rapid growth of the Web. While online sales currently account for only a fraction of total U.S. retail sales, being 3.5% in 2007, over 2.6% in 2006, Garrubbo's claims are not just idle boasts. For instance, marquis retailer Saks Fifth Avenue currently does more sales volume from its flagship Manhattan store, yet its Web business ranks second. Garrubbo predicts "it's only a matter of time before the potential for that online business is going to far exceed New York's," and will eventually be greater than "all of its other stores combined." Garrubbo also believes the current recession could actually prove a boon for online businesses, as consumers are motivated to find better deals because of a smaller wallet, as he said, "A recession forces smarter decisions, and there's an increased desire to go online."

Atkinson believes the growth and the potential of the Internet still baffles many politicians in Washington. He said the officials, "still don't understand how much of a driving force information technology and the Internet are in the economy, responsible for a lot of growth." Atkinson calls personalized online ads "economic rocket fuel" that could further boost growth. On this he warned that the Government should not unnecessarily hamper commerce with efforts to protect consumer privacy online, a topic currently under discussion by the Federal Trade Commission and the U.S. Congress.

http://www.ibls.com/internet_law_news_portal_view.aspx?s=latestnews&id=2046

Freenet Buys Debitel; Becomes World's Biggest MVNO

Freenet pays US$2.55 billion for Debitel to become Germany's third-largest mobile services provider.

The merger of Freenet and Debitel will create Germany's third-largest mobile services provider and the world's biggest MVNO.

By merging with Debitel, Freenet has altered the dynamics of its relationship with United Internet and Drillisch, making a buyout of Freenet less likely.

Given the aggressive competition in the German mobile market, the merger of Freenet and Debitel heralds the long-awaited consolidation in the market and may help ease the pressure on pricing.

German telecom group Freenet is set to become Europe's largest MVNO after buying rival Debitel in a 1.63-billion-euro (US$2.55 billion) deal from private-equity group, Permira. Freenet sealed the deal on Sunday (27 April) despite strong opposition from major shareholder, United Internet. Following the deal, the combined mobile customer base of Freenet and Debitel will reach 19 million, making Freenet Germany's third-largest mobile services provider, and one of the largest MVNOs in the world.

In a statement, Freenet said its supervisory board approved the purchase, subject to antitrust approval by the German cartel authority. Given that Debitel will be acquired on a cash-free basis with financial liabilities of about 1.135 billion euros, Freenet noted that it will not pay a dividend in 2008. Under the terms of the deal, Permira will receive 32 million new Freenet shares, giving it a 24.99% stake in the company. Permira will also provide a 132.5-million-euro, long-term loan to Freenet and has agreed to a structured lock-in period for its new shares.

Rumblings within Freenet: The acquisition of Freenet represents another chapter in the ongoing uncertainties over the fate of Freenet. The company's major shareholder, United Internet, which jointly controls 25.24% via its holding company with Drillisch, vehemently opposed the deal and tried to raise its bid price for Freenet. United Internet has been vacillating over launching a proposal to fully takeover Freenet. United Internet had wanted to buy up all of Freenet, break it up, take its DSL business, and allow rival MVNO, Drillisch, to take the mobile operations. Such was United Internet's desire to scupper the Freenet-Debitel deal that, according to Reuters, it offered to raise its takeover bid for Freenet to 16 euro per share from 12.80 euro per share.

Long-Awaited Consolidation Arrives: Although United Internet and Drillisch are not yet in the picture, the merger of Freenet and Debitel heralds the long-awaited consolidation in the German mobile market. Freenet was born when MobilCom merged its mobile operations and its internet arm, Freenet, in March 2007. In turn, Debitel Germany is the local operation of pan-European MVNO Debitel Group. The company snapped up TDC's German operations, Talkline in June 2007, and in July 2007, sold off its French unit to SFR as part of a plan to focus on the German market. By combining their mobile subscriber numbers, the combined Freenet and Debitel firm will become Germany's third-largest mobile services provider, well ahead of KPN's E-Plus and Telefónica's O2, but still well-short of market leaders T-Mobile and Vodafone. Also, the combined 19 million subscribers make Freenet the largest MVNO in the world, well ahead of Tracfone in the United States. Importantly though, consolidation in the German mobile market may help reduce aggressive competition, lowering the pricing pressures which have affected most of the players.

http://communicationsdirectnews.com/do.php/140/30354?7649

France Telecom Outlines TeliaSonera Takeover Plans

France Telecom has confirmed it is interested in acquiring Nordic telecoms group, TeliaSonera, in a deal which could create Europe's largest telecoms group by revenue. Speaking to reporters in a conference call, France Telecom chief financial officer, Gervais Pellissier, said the company believes that TeliaSonera represents a strategic opportunity as it gives the group bigger scale to compete in the future. "France Telecom and TeliaSonera are complementary, share a common strategic vision and both have significantly transformed their business models," he added. Responding to concerns that the deal could affect dividend payments, Pellissier said a deal would have to be paid in both cash and equity, and would most likely hurt the group's debt-to-gross-operating-profits ratio. However, in an attempt to diffuse growing investor concerns, he pledged that the group will continue to increase its dividend. He also suggested the group was looking at other options including a possible link-up with Telenor.

Significance: Despite Pellissier's explanations, the scepticism over the deal is not going to go away. France Telecom and TeliaSonera have little overlap in their operational markets, leaving little opportunity for joint action. Besides, merging with TeliaSonera will expose France Telecom to the low growth markets of the Nordic region.

http://communicationsdirectnews.com/do.php/120/30218?7649

Competition: Commission welcomes Court judgment wholly upholding margin squeeze decision against Deutsche Telecom

The European Commission welcomes today's judgement of the European Court of First Instance (CFI), upholding in its entirety a 2003 Commission decision imposing a EUR 12.6 million fine on Deutsche Telekom AG (DT) for abusing its dominant position on the German telecommunications market. For more than 5 years DT charged unfair prices for the provision of local access to its fixed telecommunications network (local loops). This meant that alternative operators could not compete effectively with Deutsche Telekom and German consumers were deprived of the benefits of choice and price competition for more than five years. The CFI ruling is important, not only for German consumers, but also because it confirms that dominant operators who have a regulatory obligation to supply access to their networks cannot evade this obligation through a margin-squeeze price policy.

http://europa.eu/rapid/pressReleasesAction.do?reference=MEMO/08/232&format=HTML&aged=0&language=EN&guiLanguage=en

Government sets USD2.4 billion starting bid for 68% of Ukrtelecom

Ukraine’s Cabinet of Ministers yesterday approved a starting price of USD2.4 billion for the sale of a 68% state-held stake in incumbent fixed line operator Ukrtelecom, writes the Kyiv Post. The privatisation process is expected to be launched in the next few weeks, and is aimed at raising much needed funds for state coffers. However, Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko faces potential political conflicts over the sale, firstly with President Viktor Yushchenko, who favours a more cautious privatisation strategy, and secondly with the head of the State Property Fund, Valentyna Semeniuk, a survivor of the previous government who has stalled previous privatisations, according to the Post. Possible suitors for the Ukrtelecom stake include domestic billionaire Rinat Akhmetov’s conglomerate System Capital Management, Russian groups Sistema and Alfa, Turkey’s Turkcell, Hungary’s Magyar Telekom and Telekom Austria. Norwegian group Telenor, majority owner of Ukraine’s mobile market leader Kyivstar, said earlier this week that it was unlikely to bid for the Ukrainian national PTO, which recently relaunched itself in the mobile market as the country’s monopoly 3G operator. Ukrtelecom is 92.778% state-owned. 5% of shares are owned by management, and 2.14% by employees. A 0.07% stake is listed on the local stock exchange.

http://www.telegeography.com/cu/article.php?article_id=22589&email=text

Romania's Progress In Electronic Commerce – After Accession On January 2007

As of January 1, 2007, Romania joined the European Union and accepted the constitutional treaty ratifying its accession. As Romania’s number of Internet users is quite low, compared to most of the European Union, banks and on-line traders are actively promoting a wide range of its services to attract consumers to the Internet. However, no further requirements for legislation on e-commerce have so far been identified in Romanian law. The Information Technology market is expanding at a rapid rate in Romania, and one of the growth factor would be implementation of 3G technologies.

Romania has the seventh largest population and the ninth largest territory in the European Union (EU). Beginning in late 1989, Romania actively followed a policy of expanding relations with the EU and United States. The Romanian government actively encouraged projects for upgrading the communications infrastructure and that would allow for increased Internet access, and to this end, issued special regulations to implement a series of government projects that laid a greater emphasis on e-commerce.

U.S firms are well represented in the Romanian ICT market, particularly in the IT sub-sector. Romanian imports of PCs, network interfaces and other communication interfaces, as well as of multimedia equipment and software for advanced IT applications would derive primarily from U.S. suppliers. In addition, there is widespread government-supported implementation of large IT projects as the development of information systems for public administration at both local and national levels (e.g., ID card system, integrated tax collection system, integrated health insurance information system) and an expansion of e-government and e-commerce.

What is the significance of the amendment of Law No. 365/2002 on electronic commerce in Romania? Law No. 365/2002 provides the legal framework for e-commerce and it relevant concepts like electronic messaging or exchange of data over the Internet. This law establishes who could start an e-business registered in Romania. Further, certain taxation principles are summarized under this law, and this law regulates other pertinent issues, with the overall goal of meeting EU recommendations. Electronic transactions that involve software applications are exempted from taxation, whilst any other material products which are imported or locally manufactured are subjected usually to the applicable tax rules of Romania.

Law No. 365/2002 concerning electronic commerce has been amended by Law No. 121/2006 with a view to correspond the Romanian legislation with Directive 2003/31/EC on certain legal aspects of information society services particularly e-commerce in the internal market. Nonetheless, the amendments carried out in Law 365/2002 are aimed chiefly at amending and clarifying the expressions used.

What is the significance of the Information Technology sector on e-commerce in Romania?

The IT sector is one of the active mechanisms of Romania’s economy and receives preference and interest from the Romanian government. IT has experienced significant development offering the latest technologies in many areas. The prominent user of IT is the Romanian government which makes up about one-third of Gross Domestic Product. The IT sector has implemented some of the major IT projects in the country which contains integrated systems for tax collection and National House of Health Insurance and various e-government and e-commerce projects. In 2001, Romanian government also opened a five year multi-million dollar project to provide 2,500 schools with computer laboratories and Internet access.

The Romanian government supports IT projects for the development of expansion of electronic government and electronic commerce.

What are the difficulties faced by Romania in the development of e-commerce?

A number of internal problems hamper in the development of e-commerce in Romania. For example, the Romanian banking system has not yet developed an effective system for electronic inter-bank payment clearing. Moreover, certain banks in Romania are not keen to develop a system to permit on-line payments via credit cards issued by other banks due to the low commission that they gain on such payments and the difficulties related to authentication of cards in real time. Notwithstanding, there are some banks (for example, BancPost) that have announced that they would provide an e-commerce service wherein companies interested could implement a computer system.

Furthermore, the Internet access rate is low in Romania and there is a limited usage of cards for on-line shopping, both factors that provide further disincentive for banks to develop effective e-commerce mechanisms.

Also, Romanian users and the companies show little or no trust in an e-commerce system, which could be due to the lack of information in the said field. In many cases, banks do not provide advice or in certain cases even prohibit the usage of issued credit or debit cards on the Internet, owing to qualms connected with data security.

In what ways is the tax system in Romania improving with respect to the collection of VAT?

Romania has enhanced its tax system to bring it closer to EU standards. Notwithstanding, improved efforts are required to enhance the collection of Value Added Tax (VAT) and to augment the collection of direct taxes. In January 2002, a new law on excise duties was entered into force in Romania, and in June 2002, a combined law on VAT was implemented. Romania also committed to modernize its tax administration and to augment its revenue collection system. However, no progress was noted by the EU in the area of administrative cooperation and mutual assistance, (an area where urgent action was requested in October 2005 by EU) to address the slow progress of implementation of the IT interoperability systems for tax collection, in particular VAT and excise duties. This has, in turn, led to progress in tax compliance by Romanian taxpayers.

The tax collection system in Romania experienced a decline in recent years and taxes contribute only 30% of the Romanian government’s budget, though control procedures for tax administration have been improved now. Romania’s taxation system experienced development in 2005 by eradicating a number of VAT exemptions contrary with the total body of EU law accumulated till date.

http://www.ibls.com/internet_law_news_portal_view.aspx?s=articles&id=CFA2B8EB-0F3B-46E0-8091-82D062DF7AE8

Are Further Splits in Motorola's Future?

Motorola announced Wednesday that it planned to spin off its mobile phone business into a separately traded company, unlocking the value of that division as well as giving new focus to its infrastructure group. But if focusing on core businesses is the goal of Moto’s restructuring, does that mean further subdivisions of the company are waiting?

If the separation receives approval, Motorola handsets will become a very integrated company dealing solely with the consumer devices space, but the new Motorola’s remaining business units won’t have the same continuity. Motorola’s networks and enterprise divisions build set-top boxes and IPTV gear, base station infrastructure spanning three separate standards as well as iDEN equipment, industrial and enterprise devices and machine-to-machine gadgets, and government radio equipment and devices. Its customers range from large enterprises and public safety agencies to cable companies and wireless operators.

http://communicationsdirectnews.com/do.php/150/29872?7649