Photo Ansa   A Society of information (SI) is that in which the creation, the distribution, the use, the integration and the manipulation of the information are activities felt to be strongly significant and which have been broadly possessed by the Society. The new technologies of information and communication hold a central position both with regard to the production and the economy in general, and for all the social aspects in their entirety. For some time now, the European Union has started, given the importance of the sector, to promote the development of the Society of information in Europe through policies and actions directed to favour the consolidation and the diffusion in the framework of the single market. In this article different aspects of this subject are explored: a subject more and more felt to be central, from the definition of the concept of the European Society of Information (SIE) with its raison d’etre, to the framework of regulations in which are included the networks and the contents of the SIE, to the possible future scenarios..

A European Society of Information

The promotion, development and diffusion of Nuove Tecnologie dell’Informazione e della Comunicazione (NTIC)in the European Union is considered to be very important and is, in fact, provided for by the Articles 162-173 of the Treaty that institutes the European Community (EC). This, in a framework that sees the European Union committed to favour the development of applications and contents, supporting, at the same time, initiatives that encourage the Europeans to draw advantage from the Society of Information and which allows them to participate.
The Società dell’Informazione Europea (SIE) answers twofold Community objective, economic and social at the same time: to promote the European competitiveness in the sector of the Nuove Tecnologie dell’Informazione e della Comunicazione and support the economic and social progress through the creation of work and the development of the social and regional cohesion in Europe. The specificity of the SIE – compared to other models of ‘super high-way information’ promoted in other national and regional contexts – lies in its ultimate cohesive dimension, specifically directed to the promotion of the social cohesion and to the exclusion of the (digital divide)digital divide between those who can connect and those who cannot connect (in the technical, cultural and professional sense, contemporarily).
Therefore, what is the SIE? The European Commission began, starting from the White Book of Delors of 1993, (1), a wide deliberation on the theme. In the mid-nineties, it gathered together a Group of high level experts, which in 1995 defined the SIE as a project society in which the technologies for the transmission and storing of information are largely used by the population and in which the change will be accompanied by innovations at a social, commercial and organizational level, which will profoundly alter our lives at a social and professional level.
This definition still seems current to us since it underlines the attention that the European Union purposely directs to the social dimension and inclusive of the NTIC and, at the same time, permits the inclusion of the different initiatives at the European level in a socio-economic concept. For the Union, therefore, the ESI is the result of the continual interaction of market and, social and cultural forces which have changed, are changing and will change the way in which we live, work and learn.
It is certainly true that the management of the change towards a ESI constitutes, because of its many implications, one of the greatest challenges undertaken in the ambit of the projects for European integration. The SIE, in fact, goes beyond the technical integration of the different national markets. It has created a single market of the networks or of the contents to integrate political, social, economic and cultural aspects that are at the centre of the social changes which the Europeans are experiencing, at the present time.


The activities of the EU for the development of the SIE

The European activities in the sector of the Information Society (IS) are rather diversified and go from the regulating of entire industrial sectors to the protection of the private life of the individual. In conformance with what is prescribed by the treaties, the policies and activities promoted by the EU for the Information Society complete and support the initiatives undertaken in the national ambit.
Starting from the Lisbon Council of March, 2000, which set itself the objective of making the European economy the most competitive economy of knowledge in the world, the Community policies directed to the development of the IS are collected in the form of structured and organic plans of action. In June, 2005, with the launching of the most recent European undertaking for the IS, called “The 2010 – a Society of Information for growth and employment” (2) , the European Commission proposed four objectives for priority and to achieve within 2010: the creation of a sole European space of information; innovation and investment in the study of frontier; inclusion, improvement of the public services and quality of life, and governance of the development (3).
Known in Community slang as triple-play, the action of the Union for the development of the ESI is characterized by an
approach focused on the regulating of the market, on the incentive, the development and the diffusion of the IS and on tapping the advantages (4) .



Telecommunications: a regulated market

The European Society of Information has grown partly thanks to such initiatives as the creation of the single market, the guideline “Television without frontier” (5) , the adoption of harmonized regulations, absinthe case of the GSM, the liberalization of the telecommunications sector. Today, the regulations in the IS at European level concentrate on two principal aspects: the transmission, or rather, the regulation of the networks, and the contents, or rather the regulating of what passes through the networks.


The regulating of the networksi

A fundamental step towards the SIE was taken in 1998, when the EU proceeded to the liberalization of the telecommunications markets. Since then, observing, above all, the rapid development of the new technologies of the communication and the convergence of the technologies of communication and radio-television broadcasting through digital systems, the Union committed itself to a constant process of monitoring, evaluation and new definition of the field of application of the regulations to take into consideration the entirety of the networks and the electronic services of communication in a new set of regulations, in force since July, 2003.
The regulations which came into force in July, 2003, offer a legal frame of reference to proceed in the development of the European industry of communications. It promotes the competition and discipline: among the various aspects, the management of the scarce resources and essentials for the communications (6) . The principal objectives of the regulations of 2003, which are composed of six guidelines and a Community regulation (7) were:
a) reduce the regulation fulfilments chargeable to the supply services companies for the IS after the most careful monitoring necessary during the period of liberalization of the sector;
b) ensure that all clients have right to a series of fundamental services at affordable costs (telephone, fax, access to Internet, gratis emergency calls) and that disabled people have access;
c) give further incentive to the competition, reducing the dominant position that, in the past, the national monopolies of communication had maintained for certain services, such as the high-speed access to Internet.
Although the national authorities of each single Member State of the EU apply the regulations separately, they coordinate their strategies at a Community level, among other things, in the ambit of the so-called European Regulators’ Group (ERG).
After less than five years, the regulations have been subjected to a re-examination starting with a public consultation on the necessity of a reform of the Community regulations in matters of telecommunications in force since July 2003, and on the realization of a single market of the telecommunications. Following the consultations and based on the analysis of the opinions of the interested parties, the European Commission adopted, in November, 2007, the reform proposals of the regulations in matters of telecommunications. By and large, the proposals of the Commission intend to further simplify the regulations and create a sole European agency to which a part of the regulating functions can be entrusted.
The reform packet of the telecommunications proposes:
a) new rights for the consumer (for example, the right of changing
telecommunications operator in one day, the right to transparent and comparable price information, the possibility of gratuitously calling numbers abroad and major efficiency of the only European telephone emergency number);
b) a larger choice for the consumers, thanks to major competition (in particular, offering to the national authorities of regulation the new remedy of the functional separation of the dominant telecommunication operators);
c) a major security in the use of the communication networks (thanks to new instruments of spam fighting, viruses and other informatics attacks);
d) a New Deal of the radio spectrum, supporting axles of the wireless communication services (reducing the digital fracture in the rural zones, for example, through a better management of the radio spectrum and making available the spectrum for wireless services at wide band in the regions where the construction of a new infra-structure in fiber optics would be too expensive);
e) a better regulation of the sector of the telecommunications through the liberalization of the markets (allowing the Commission and the national authorities of regulations to concentrate on the principal obstacles: for example, the wide band market);
f) more independent controllers to guarantee uniform regulations in the interests of the consumers (reinforcing the independence of the national controllers of the telecommunications both by the operators and by the governments).
To implement the reform in the most rapid and efficacious way, the Commissions has proposed to create a European Authority of the market of the telecommunications with the task of ensuring that the important services of communication (such as access to Internet at wide band, the roaming of the data, the mobile telephony on board aircrafts and ships and the trans-frontier services for the business enterprises) are disciplined in a more uniform manner in the 27 Member States. According to the proposal of the Commission, the European Authority of the market of telecommunications will combine the functions of two existing bodies in a more effective way: the Group of European Regulators (ERG) and the European Agency for the security of the networks and of the information (ENISA – European Network and Information Security Agency) (8) .
After an intense inter-institutional debate, the telecommunications reform packet arrived at the second reading in the European Parliament on 6th May, 2009. Considering that the packet had been approved with amendments by the European Parliament, and that an agreement was not reached with the Council, which had not completely accepted the second reading of Parliament, it is most probably that the entire packet will go into conciliation in the next Legislature.
Keeping in mind the fact that the elections for the European have just been held (6th & 7th June, 2009) and, therefore, a new institutional political structure will be delineated (the new Parliament will be installed at the end of summer and the new Commission will not arrive in Brussels before November 2010).
Given the importance of the packet for the future of the European competitiveness in such a strategic and important sector, it is reasonable to think that awaiting the next Legislature is the only possible alternative.


The regulating of the contents

As far as the contents are concerned, the regulating of the European audiovisual sector aims to guarantee the free performance of services and to realize objectives of public interest, such as the access to information and the protection of the users in sectors like the commercial communications, the protection of minors and of human dignity.
The current regulations are composed principally of the “Television without Frontiers” Guideline (9) and of the recommendations of Parliament and the Council on the protection of minors, and of the human dignity in the media (10) .
The Guideline, updated in 1997 to take account of the developments in the audiovisual sector, has the scope of promoting the European radio-television sector, guaranteeing the free circulation of the radio-diffusion television services throughout the entire European Union. The Recommendation wishes to furnish orientation per the National Legislations in matters of opposing and prohibiting information of illegal and harmful content diffused through electronic means.
The Union, following an extensive debate begun in 2003, proceeded to a modernization of the rules that had originated, in 2007, the new Guideline on the services of audiovisual media (DSMA). The new Guideline, in the phase of acceptance in the Member States, will permit the audiovisual sector to cope with the profound changes imposed by the new developments of the market and technologies, and with the changed habits of television audiences, dictated by the convergence.
Thanks to the Guideline, new and modern rules will be applied to all the services of the audiovisual media, irrespective of the technology of utilized transmission, from traditional television transmissions to the emerging service of the type television on request, contributing to improve the future competitiveness of the sector.
The New Guideline, also known as “Services of audiovisual media without Frontiers” referring to the previous guideline “Television without Frontiers” still in force, will allow the audiovisual sector to cope with the profound changes which lie ahead so as to take account of the technological developments and of the market, as well as the variations in transmission material deriving from the convergence.
The principal objectives of the Guideline regard a new field of application which covers all the services of the audiovisual media, more flexible rules in publicity material, a legal framework for the placement of products, new rights for citizens and the permanent protection of the European fundamental values.
The pivot of the new Guideline continues to be the start of the Country of origin. It provides for a procedure based on the jurisprudence of the Court of Justice, which permits the Member States to adopt binding measures with regard to the stations of other Member States in case of violation of the national regulations of the destination Country.
The producers of audiovisual services will benefit also by more elastic regulations and less detailed in matters of publicity, which offer new opportunities of financing, which, according to the reasoning of the dialogue of the reform, should give drive to the sector of contents production.
New rights are foreseen for the citizen in the ambit of the new Guideline, such as the transmission of extracts of events of general public interest in the programmes of general information, with a clear identification of the supplier of media services.
An improved access to the services of audiovisual media are foreseen for people of partial sight and/or partial hearing and the definition of clear rules on the insertion of products, with the obligation for the stations which use this practice to inform the television viewers of them.
The new Guideline re-affirms also European fundamental values insomuch as imposing the Member States to guarantee the protection of minors, to promote the European works and the independent audiovisual productions and to prohibit contents that incite hatred for religious and racial reasons. Furthermore, self-regulation and co-regulation of the sector are expressly encouraged. The application of the new regulations is foreseen for the end of 2009.


The dialogue with the interested parties on the
future of the European Information Society

Where is the SIE directed? This question is very important in times of institutional reorganizations, rapid digital convergence and technological innovation, change in the way of users accessing and utilizing audiovisual contents on-line.
Last May, the European Commission published the final Report on the consultation on creative contents on-line (11) . The Report is the result of its analysis on a public consultation that it started, through an on-line platform, last January, 2008, in which Member States and public authorities, European associations, non-profit making association, enterprises and citizens participated. The different interested parties, or stakeholders, were called to respond to a communication of the Commission to the European Parliament, to the Council, to the Social and Economic Committee, and to the Committee of the regions on the on-line creative contents in the single market (12) .
The growing availability and the use of the wide band in Europe and the greater possibilities of accessing the contents and the creative services – everywhere and at any moment – offer new opportunities both to creators and the distributors and users of on-line contents.
For the consumer this means new ways to access and, even condition the creative contents present on the world networks like Internet, both from home and by utilizing mobile devices. For the businesses it means being able to offer services and new contents and develop new markets.
With the development of devices, networks and new services – possible for an ever greater convergence between new and old media, for a galloping technological innovation and following at an equal pace, a continual evolving of the typology of usage of the contents by the internauts – these opportunities must be taken up together by operators of contents and networks, owners of rights, consumers, public authorities and independent regulating bodies. From the point of view of further development of the internal market of creative contents on-line, the search for the most appropriate solutions is translated into growth, employment and innovation of the EU. On the basis of the results of the process of consultation and to integrate the actions already realized in the ambit of the “the 2010” strategy, the Commission intends to launch, in the near future, further initiatives to support the development of innovative commercial models and an ample offer of trans-frontier services of creative contents on line.
Since the process of de-materialization in the distribution of creative contents is unsettling the consolidated commercial practices of the creative industries, this process could create, at the same time, enormous opportunities and enormous losses, as it introduces new actors into the market of the audiovisual industries.
The objective of the Commission in launching the public consultation was twofold:
a) at short term: promote pragmatic solutions which will encourage the availability of creative contents on-line;
b) at mid-term: reflect on the need for further legislative interventions.
Along with the consultation, there have been five meetings at Brussels between the Commission and high level experts on the principal themes of the consultation. The Commission has posed 11 strategic and regulatory questions to the consultation, on creative contents on-line. The 11 questions have been grouped into 3 major themes, which are at the centre of the SIE and the management of which is of primary importance for its future:
management of digital rights;
multi-territorial licences;
pirated and legal offers.
The contributions received and made public on site amount to a total of 599, divided in 15 contributions from State Members and public authorities, 178 contributions from European associations and non-profit making associations, 49 from businesses, and 357 contributions coming from individual European citizens.
The writer, together with a group of researchers of the Free University of Brussels has made an analysis of the answers published on the site, directed to determine the interests and the positions of the different interested parties. The following is the result of the conclusions of the Commission and of the above mentioned research due to be published. Given the subjects treated, the result of the consultation is fundamental for new Community, legislative and non-legislative interventions, both in the ambit of the development of the networks and of the contents.


The Public Consultation

The majority of the interested parties agreed on the fact that the sector of creative contents is a sector in which to invest, but which also presents high risks. Especially in Europe, where the market is fragmented and where the development and production of creative contents of quality are, often, very expensive. In other words, in Europe, it is difficult to attract capital in the sector of the production of digital contents and finance at short term, the transition to the digital distribution with the proceeds of the sales of products in the real economy which, at the moment, with the exception of videogames and books, are falling.
At the same time, the analysis of the contributions of the consultation show how the consumers, in an ever increasing way, are prepared to accept the idea of paying fair offers of contents if these are priced in an opportune manner, and how the consumers are prepared to pay more for niche contents.
The information gathered still shows that the internauts also desire an easy access – multi-platform and trans-national – to the contents on the Network.
One of the questions which seems to have become obsolete, despite its alleged importance, is that of the technical measures of protection that have the scope of limiting, for example, the copies of the legally purchased material. The shared idea is that, today, a solution no longer exists – and probably, in the future, it will be difficult to arrive at one which is able to accommodate the different interests and needs, in other words, one size that fits all solutions.
For the creative industry, based on the model of the rights of the author, the digital distribution of the contents pose important challenger. In particular, the subject of the de-territorializing in the distribution of contents has been much debated, and there is no agreement between the interested parties on what to do.
It clearly emerges the need to re-examine the multi-territorial licences for the musical sector, where for the audiovisual sector, in which the potential of the multi-territorial licences has been, up to now, applied on a regional basis and more geographically limited, the question must still be seriously taken into consideration.
Different actors have proposed the creation of a European data-base of creative contents which helps to identify the holders of authors’ rights and, contemporaneously, be able to furnish all the necessary information for the licences and the management of the rights. In particular, with regard to the multi-territorial licences, the need for pragmatic solutions has been recognized.
The discussion on the management systems of the digital rights and of the technical measures of protection has remained hidden in times when a great part of the musical sector are naturally distancing themselves from such systems, which remain, however, important for the cinema industry.
There is, instead, no agreement on the possible remedies to on-line piracy. The greater part of the participants in the consultation is, however, in agreement on the fact that the creation of legal offers that are attractive and user friendly, plays a fundamental role in encouraging respect for authors’ rights in the digital age; on the fact that the interested parties must cooperate better among themselves to ensure respect for the authors’ rights; on the fact that there must be more awareness of the importance of authors’ right and for the consequences of piracy on the creative industry.
Some participants have pointed out how the adoption of different remedies in different Member States could render the multi-territorial commercial practices difficult. In the eventuality in which new legislative solutions or initiatives of self or co-regulating are undertaken, every effort must be made to find workable solutions regarding the identification of the real culprits of the violation of the authors’ rights; provide for a costs sharing between holders of rights and the Internet access suppliers and be sure that the decisions on the real or presumed use of illicit contents is based on factual evidence.
With regard to the protection of minors, the response confirmed the availability of technical solutions, such as the regularly up-dated black lists, but also indicated as a possible solution was the increase of positive offers of contents on-line for minors, which could divert their interests from the offers of harmful contents. Given the divergences of ethical and moral character in the sensitivities of the different Member States, the question of a European classification of contents appears to be a goal which would be difficult to reach.
The opinions concerning the possibility of an increased cultural diversity thanks to the multiplication of the platforms of use were divided. It is possible to draw the conclusion that if the multiple platforms of access increase the cultural diversity in Europe, this will depend, principally, on the commercial practices that are implemented according to the circumstances and necessity.
Certain contributions have underlined how commercial models based on the subscription are better than models based on pay-per-view and would contribute much better to the development of the cultural diversity in Europe. The reason being that those who take out a subscription wish to maximize their investment. The exclusiveness and the non-exclusiveness constitute another element that influences the level of availability of films of the European cultural patrimony. While the non-exclusiveness could better contribute to their willingness for a larger public, the exclusiveness could, instead, favour the development of the competition between the different platforms, which would go, indirectly to the benefit of the consumers, and also, in the long run, probably to the cultural diversity.

The basis for a really shared SIE

Reading transversally the opinions expressed by the interested parties, it is possible to identify what opinions are more widely shared. These are significant because in relation to them, the different groups, on important questions, are united.
Multi-stakeholders dialogue: the vast majority of the interested parties sustained the necessity, on the subjects, of a multi-stakeholders’ dialogue which is able to give voice to all the interested parties, including, above all, the users of the IS and the internauts, too often excluded from the European decisional process and frequently marginalized because they are not adequately represented in the European governance;
key role of the Commission: many have invited the Commission to guarantee such dialogue and to promote initiatives to continue on the path that has been undertaken. The European Commission is, therefore, the key actor to promote an open and representative dialogue of the society;
inter-operability of the management systems of the digital rights on-line: this emerged as an element of fundamental importance;
Search for open solutions and the utilization of open standards for the implementation of management system of the digital rights;
necessity of a recommendation of the Commission or another type of legislative-institutional intervention, even more stringent, on the multi-territorial licences: many, especially among the businesses, expressed favourable opinions in this sense;
f) gradual response towards those who infringe authors’ rights
on-line: with regard to the solution to use to avoid illicit usage of contents on-line, a moderate agreement was registered for the French solution, aimed to establish a gradual response to those who infringe authors’ rights on-line;
use of filtering measures: this appears to be a controversial
solution to prevent illicit use of materials subject to authors’ rights; many doubts were expressed in this regard and there were many requests for a revision.
It emerges, therefore, that besides the convergence and the rapid technological progress, the Commission must consider more and more the opinion of the users of the SIE and their innovative capacity to get possession of the NTIC and the contents on-line. Undoubtedly, this is a very difficult challenge, given also the tendency of the users, confirmed by studies of a sociological nature, to consider less serious on-line behaviour which, in the real society, is strongly regulated and recognized by all as fraudulent.