Brussels, 02/02/2009 (Agence Europe) - With 1.2 billion users worldwide, the internet has become an essential method of communication. While people today have virtually limitless access to information, many questions remain to be answered with regard to the management of the internet of the future, to design an instrument than can change attitudes for the better and can open the world to other political, economic and social horizons. On Monday 2 February, the Lisbon Council reflection group held a conference on the future of the internet, at which European Information Society and Media Commissioner Viviane Reding and researcher Don Tapscott, the author of best-sellers on the development of the digital society (“Grown up Digital” and “Wikinomics: how mass collaboration changes everything”) were among those taking part.
In the first part of the meeting, Tapscott set out his vision of the world of tomorrow, with people infinitely more interactive and participative. He assessed how the new generation, the “net generation”, would use the internet, giving the world of tomorrow a new look. This revolution is already under way in the United States, launched by the success of new President Barack Obama, who made great and intelligent use of new technology to assure his success. Young people in the past would vegetate in front of the television; today, young people use new technologies which let them get information where and when they want, create social and occupational networks throughout the world, as a form of entertainment, the writer said. This is a radical change of behaviour compared with their elders and, once they become adults, it will allow them better to inform themselves of the challenges they will have to handle, challenges such as climate change.
The internet, said Reding in the second session, was what would lead us out of the economic crisis. The internet of the future was in full expansion and would always be confronted with unprecedented challenges, related to privacy, security and governance of the networks, she went on, stating that it was time to begin global reflection on an improved, more effective and inclusive internet. This year, the European Commission would step up its efforts: it would increase investment in R&D, participate actively in discussions on the regulatory approach to applications and services, and actively promote internet protocol IP version 6 (IPv6) rollout, she promised. In order not to miss the opportunities presented by the new digital age, European countries would have to put to one side their national interests, which were still the cause of great fragmentation in the telecommunications market, because the internet did not stop at national borders, Reding warned. There were, she said, three drivers of change: social networks which links up all layers of society; the internet of things which will make available a huge mass of hitherto inaccessible information; and mobile internet which means we can get information no matter where and no matter when. The success of the internet of the future would only be realised if fundamental principles, such as the openness of the internet, were adhered to, stated Reding. This openness depended, on the one hand, on net neutrality, which guaranteed the quality of services and prevented anti-competitive practices, and, on the other, on open standards for better interoperability between information systems. In conclusion, Reding welcomed the national initiatives taken by France, Germany, Sweden and the United Kingdom to better manage the recent internet developments. She called on member states to continue to invest in the technologies of the future and to further open their borders so that a single European policy can be developed. “Governments must be able to cooperate with each other in Europe and at the global level to fulfil these responsibilities,” she said. (I.L./transl.rt)