The
group made its comments in response to a consultation by the
European Commission on whether the provision of audiovisual content
services – by television broadcast, broadband or 3G – needs a new
legal regime.
The Commission believes that telecom providers will soon be able
to deliver broadcasting services in a quality equal to traditional
TV, while traditional content providers will enter the
communications markets. It therefore wants to make sure now
that the new regime has better competition and consumer choice
together with protection for children and cultural diversity.
Comments on the proposals were invited by 5th September, in time
for a forthcoming EU audiovisual content conference to be held in
Liverpool later this month.
According to the E-Business Regulatory Alliance, the existing
framework governing audiovisual and information society services is
working well. It is not convinced that any change is necessary.
“The internet is not a virtual 'Wild West', but is already
heavily regulated with several instruments, for example the
e-Commerce Directive and the Copyright Directive. Member States
also have horizontal laws that can be generally applied to the
internet,” says the Alliance.
“Where public policy issues, for example the protection of
minors and human dignity, are important to the online environment,
national legislation or industry self regulation is already
adequate. The online business sector has done much to protect
children and minors by introducing, for example, parental/guardian
controls and age verification,” it adds.
The Alliance calls on the Commission to conduct a Regulatory
Impact Assessment – along the lines of the UK’s model – in each
business sector likely to be affected by any new regulations.
It is also concerned that simply extending the Directive will
not solve the problem, in that businesses are unable to predict
what developments will take place, and therefore what laws will be
needed in the future.
Nor does the Alliance believe that the timescale set for
publishing the draft Directive – the end of this year – is
workable, especially given the need for proper Regulatory Impact
Assessments.
It calls for a light touch in respect of any proposals for
regulating the internet, and questions whether the proposals will
provide for legal certainty.
The Alliance says: “The E-commerce Directive sets down an
enabling framework for online business. This provision should be
allowed to remain intact and not be damaged by any new proposal.
Online businesses do not want to be made subject to more than one
set of rules.”
The definition of what is a linear (scheduled programming) and a
non-linear (on-demand) service will be particularly problematic,
says the Alliance, which believes that radio should definitely not
be included.
“Further rules here would undermine Europe’s radio industry
which is already well-regulated,” it says.
It calls on the Commission to ensure high levels of subsidiarity
and to maintain a strong country of origin approach – so that
businesses are not subject to different rules if offering services
in different Member States, but merely have to satisfy those in
their country of origin.
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