The digitisation of society allows for the best and the worst and must, therefore, be regulated. This is the finding of the European Commission in its draft Communication ‘Europe fit for the digital age’, to be published together with a consultation on artificial intelligence (see EUROPE 12415/1) and a data strategy (see EUROPE 12418/1).
“Because of digital technologies, dreams of equal access to top level education and health care, ease of transport and a sustainable planet can become reality. But so can chaos caused by cyber attacks or surveillance systems used by autocratic regimes”, notes the draft text, as seen by EUROPE.
This is why the institution has set itself the ambition, by way of example, to achieve the same level of trust in the online press as in the paper press, to increase the digital literacy of the EU population from 57% to 70%, to triple the share of companies using artificial intelligence or to provide carbon-neutral data centres by 2025.
A series of initiatives in prospect
The communication project is based on three key principles: technology at the service of people, a fair and competitive digital economy and a sustainable digital society. In each of these components, the European Commission is announcing a series of forthcoming initiatives. It specifies that all legislative actions will be subject to broad public consultation and robust impact assessments.
In addition to those already described in its other initiatives that have been leaked (industrial strategy, artificial intelligence, data, etc.), the Commission announces its intention to launch a sector inquiry into competition in the new and emerging markets that are shaping our economy. It suggests that the Digital Services Act, due to be presented in the fourth quarter of 2020, could assess new ex ante rules for platforms with a significant network effect, which act as ‘gatekeepers’.
Among other announcements, the Commission suggests a ‘media action plan’ at the end of 2020 to stimulate quality content, a regulation on European digital capacity which will establish a legal framework allowing flexible governance arrangements for all advanced technologies (2020) or a circular devices initiative, which will include a right to repair to extend the life cycle of electronic devices (2021).
To see the Commission communication: http://bit.ly/2vQDvHn (Original version in French by Sophie Petitjean and Hermine Donceel)