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<span style="font-size:9pt">3</span>
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<p class="header" style="margin-right:18.000000pt" awml:style="header">
European Regional Bureau Newsletter: 6 January 2017 – 12 January 2018
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<span style="font-family:'Hind Light';color:#3a82e4">Internet Access</span>
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<span style="font-weight:bold;font-size:10pt;font-family:'Hind Light'">EU: BEREC and RSPG’s solutions to facilitate mobile connectivity in challenge areas</span>
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<span></span><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:'Hind Light'">On January 10, the Body of European Regulators for Electronic Communications (BEREC) has adopted a </span> <a href="http://berec.europa.eu/eng/document_register/subject_matter/berec/reports/7574-berec-and-rspg-joint-report-on-facilitating-mobile-connectivity-in-challange-areas"><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:'Hind Light'">common report</span></a><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:'Hind Light'"> with RSPG on facilitating mobile connectivity in “challenge areas”.</span><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:'Hind Light'">This final report takes into account comments raised during a</span> <a href="http://berec.europa.eu/eng/document_register/subject_matter/berec/reports/7583-berec-report-on-the-outcome-of-the-consultation-on-the-draft-berec-rspg-joint-report-on-facilitating-mobile-connectivity-in-challenge-areas"><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:'Hind Light'">consultation</span></a><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:'Hind Light'"> run in autumn last year.</span> <span></span><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:'Hind Light'">The document describes the main issues encountered to provide mobile connectivity in some challenge areas describing four categories of challenge areas (indoor, transportation means, non-profitable areas and others) and lists initiatives to facilitate mobile connectivity for each of these.</span> <span></span><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:'Hind Light'">It also presents feasible solutions such as developing network sharing, installing repeaters, Wi-Fi or imposing coverage obligations.</span> <p style="text-align:justify">
<span style="font-weight:bold;font-size:10pt;font-family:'Hind Light'">EU: WP on Telecommunications and Information Society meets on January 16</span><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:'Hind Light'"></span></p>
<span></span><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:'Hind Light'">The Working Party on Telecommunications and Information Society is meeting on January 16. The European Commission will present its 2018 work programme on this occasion.</span> <span></span><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:'Hind Light'">During the meeting, the WP will also examine the latest Presidency text on the proposal for a Directive establishing the European Electronic Communications Code (EECC), currently being discussed by the co-legislators (Commission, European Parliament and Council) during trilogue meetings.</span> <p style="text-align:justify;margin-bottom:10.000000pt">
<span style="font-family:'Hind Light';color:#3a82e4">Trust</span>
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<span style="font-weight:bold;font-size:10pt;font-family:'Hind Light'">EU: DG JUST publishes notice to stakeholders on UK-EU rules in the field of data protection</span>
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<span class="list_paragraph" style="background:#ffffff"></span><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:'Hind Light'">On 9 January, the European Commission’s Directorate General for Justice and Consumers issued a</span> <a href="http://ec.europa.eu/newsroom/just/document.cfm?action=display&doc_id=49245"><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:'Hind Light'">notice to stakeholders</span></a><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:'Hind Light'"> on the “withdrawal of the United Kingdom and EU rules in the field of data protection.” The paper states that after Brexit the EU rules for transfer of personal data to third countries will apply.</span> <span></span><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:'Hind Light'">Aside from an adequacy decision, the EU's data protection rules, notably the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), allow a transfer if the controller or processor has delivered "appropriate safeguards", provided by standard data protection clauses, binding corporate rules, Codes of Conduct and certification mechanisms.</span> <span></span><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:'Hind Light'">Without an adequacy decision, or appropriate safeguards, a transfer can happen on the basis of derogations (e.g. if based on consent or as part of a contract, for the exercise of legal claims or for important reasons of public interest).</span> <p style="text-align:justify">
<span style="font-weight:bold;font-size:10pt;font-family:'Hind Light'">EU: Intel faces lawsuit over “Meltdown” security flaws</span>
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<span></span><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:'Hind Light'">Following the</span> <a href="https://www.theregister.co.uk/2018/01/02/intel_cpu_design_flaw/"><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:'Hind Light'">discovery</span></a><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:'Hind Light'"> of serious security bugs as reported in last week’s newsletter, Intel is facing a number of</span> <a href="https://www.prweek.com/article/1454201/intel-faces-dozen-class-action-lawsuits-chip-flaws"><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:'Hind Light'">lawsuits</span></a><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:'Hind Light'"> (mostly in the United States) due to security flaws and the consequent slowdown that fixing computers will bring.</span> <span></span><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:'Hind Light'">Intel has admitted that the security issues could have made PCs and servers more unstable and allow hackers to access sensitive information from computers, phones and other devices. However, the chipmaker</span> <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-cyber-microchips/intel-says-performance-impact-of-security-updates-not-significant-idUSKBN1EU0JH"><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:'Hind Light'">stated</span></a><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:'Hind Light'"> that fixing the flaws would not slow down their processors.</span> <span></span><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:'Hind Light'">The company has</span> <a href="https://www.engadget.com/2018/01/08/intel-meltdown-spectre-flaw-security-patch/"><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:'Hind Light'">committed</span></a><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:'Hind Light'"> to patching all recent chips by the end of the month.</span> <p style="text-align:justify">
<span style="font-weight:bold;font-size:10pt;font-family:'Hind Light'">EU: Commissioners meet online platforms representatives to discuss removal of illegal content online</span>
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<span></span><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:'Hind Light'">On 9 January, five European Commissioners</span> <a href="http://europa.eu/rapid/press-release_STATEMENT-18-63_en.htm"><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:'Hind Light'">met</span></a><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:'Hind Light'"> with representatives of online platforms to discuss progress made tackling the spread of illegal content online. While the focus was on terrorist propaganda and hate speech, intellectual property rights infringement was also high on the agenda.</span> <span></span><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:'Hind Light'">EC Vice-President Andrus Ansip, Commissioners Dimitris Avramopoulos (Home Affairs), Elżbieta Bieńkowska (Industry), Věra Jourová (Justice), Julian King (Security) and Mariya Gabriel (Digital) released a joint statement ahead of the meeting. Illegal content was described as a threat to security, safety, and fundamental rights, demanding a “collective response from all actors, including the Internet industry.”</span> <span></span><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:'Hind Light'">The Commissioners called on platforms to speed up efforts to quickly and comprehensively detect and remove terrorist and other illegal content online.</span> <p style="text-align:justify">
<span style="font-weight:bold;font-size:10pt;font-family:'Hind Light'">EU: Allocation of competences on free flow of data and cyber files within the European Parliament</span>
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<span></span><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:'Hind Light'">After months of controversial disputes in-house between the IMCO and the Industry Committee (ITRE), European Parliament leaders met on January 11 to decide which Committee would lead the drafting of the EU’s</span> <a href="http://www.europarl.europa.eu/oeil-mobile/fiche-procedure/2017/0228(COD)"><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:'Hind Light'">free flow of non-personal data</span></a><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:'Hind Light'"> and the</span> <a href="http://www.europarl.europa.eu/oeil-mobile/fiche-procedure/2017/0225(COD)"><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:'Hind Light'">Cybersecurity Act</span></a><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:'Hind Light'"> proposals.</span> <span></span><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:'Hind Light'">The Conference of Presidents decided the IMCO committee would lead the drafting of the regulation on the free flow of non-personal data in the EU, with the ITRE committee providing an opinion.</span> <span></span><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:'Hind Light'">On the cybersecurity proposal, the Conference of Committee Chairs ruled ITRE would lead the drafting of the new mandate for the EU’s Cybersecurity Agency, ENISA. However, both IMCO and ITRE will share the responsibility for drafting the Parliament’s position on the proposed cybersecurity certification framework.</span> <span></span><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:'Hind Light'">A first discussion within the IMCO Committee will take place on January 23. The IMCO Committee is rumoured to want to vote on its report on the free flow of non-personal data by June 18-19, 2018.</span> <p style="text-align:justify">
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<span style="font-weight:bold;font-size:10pt;font-family:'Hind Light'">Global: WEF issues report on cyber resilience</span>
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<span></span><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:'Hind Light'">The World Economic Forum has released a new report, “</span> <a href="http://mmail.dods.co.uk/wf/click?upn=77RLqgktrfF6d3irm1AHO07fmT1HbHM9jnz-2FPV9cxoBIhtb4dqlfd3BPW1RP3EKL4dqKs7CT3STFLayDSdj6Z-2Bpd-2BS-2B-2BKmv-2FLIIzhT6hQNU-3D_HM2xLN2tM-2FYF1ZWutwuBpRAdFSQbUrSs7NyboXLLFm-2FVHDNfizM-2BVp-2BknwqLIGs1cpqGpMEg61qnXOXabL-2FMCDFrSwIxuqzpEtaUpsi9qsSR6hev-2B5xK7mWSq-2B-2Fh5ju78GU3TCGfcplMdGbV-2BfOFeXID-2BzMmGlyVC3dE0xh8Rv3B4TJsR11s6bcEHL47jv2mV1xp1Kf5r5pWmsZLqVNzqXL-2F5zAsBe07a9ghcwcJb98-3D"><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:'Hind Light'">Cyber Resilience: Playbook for Public-Private Collaboration</span></a><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:'Hind Light'">”, to build collaboration across sectors to improve cybersecurity.</span> <span></span><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:'Hind Light'">The document covers a broad range of issues including encryption, access to sensitive data, rules for private companies to respond to cyber-threats, and intelligence sharing.</span> <span></span><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:'Hind Light'">The report come ahead of the official launch of a new Global Centre for Cybersecurity, which will take place on the side of the</span> <a href="http://mmail.dods.co.uk/wf/click?upn=49w59Ha8xv3lXY5AGiPZf-2FZrX2WSBIMJeVcRuHbe3gY-3D_HM2xLN2tM-2FYF1ZWutwuBpRAdFSQbUrSs7NyboXLLFm-2FVHDNfizM-2BVp-2BknwqLIGs1UNGwqhH5X9BfGg1-2FGsd9FD0zP8mHOMR7h-2BKAiOePKvIpxmru2J5foTzyMz-2B0OGs0hJO5AhwgjeBqNXPzvCApbYcuYwQat-2Fiqp8tcDLCi1xwAWcxT-2FHSNvzP8OJ8-2FcPQXLD1U-2FfUaiRfc06XnAJGCMrqJAN5CU6Y9NO1iKzYHMlo-3D"><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:'Hind Light'">Annual Meeting 2018</span></a><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:'Hind Light'"> in Davos (23-26 January).</span> <p style="text-align:justify">
<span style="font-weight:bold;font-size:10pt;font-family:'Hind Light'">EU: Commission appoints High-Level Group on Fake News</span>
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<span></span><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:'Hind Light'">Following a</span> <a href="https://ec.europa.eu/digital-single-market/news-redirect/606847"><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:'Hind Light'">selection process</span></a><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:'Hind Light'">, on 12 January, the European Commission appointed 39 experts to a new</span> <a href="https://ec.europa.eu/digital-single-market/en/news/experts-appointed-high-level-group-fake-news-and-online-disinformation"><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:'Hind Light'">High-Level Group (HLEG) on fake news and online disinformation</span></a><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:'Hind Light'">. It gathers representatives of social media platforms and news media organisations, journalists, tech companies and academia. Professor Dr. Madeleine de Cock Buning, from Utrecht University, chairs the Group.</span> <span></span><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:'Hind Light'">The High Level group will advise the EC on scoping the phenomenon of fake news, defining the roles and responsibilities of key actors and formulate recommendations.</span> <span></span><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:'Hind Light'">The establishment of the HLEG is part of a broader strategy the EU is implementing to tackle the spread of fake news online and online disinformation, as</span> <a href="http://europa.eu/rapid/press-release_IP-17-4481_en.htm"><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:'Hind Light'">announced</span></a><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:'Hind Light'"> in November 2017.</span> <p style="text-align:justify;margin-bottom:10.000000pt">
<span style="font-family:'Hind Light';color:#3a82e4">Other</span>
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<span style="font-weight:bold;font-size:10pt;font-family:'Hind Light'">EU: UK and Poland appoint new Digital Ministers</span>
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<span></span><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:'Hind Light'">Two EU countries, UK and Poland, are currently experiencing reshuffles at government level.</span> <span></span><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:'Hind Light'">The UK's Digital Minister, Matt Hancock has been</span> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2018/jan/09/mark-garnier-loses-ministerial-job-as-reshuffle-continues"><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:'Hind Light'">promoted</span></a><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:'Hind Light'"> to Secretary of Culture.</span> <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/people/margot-james"><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:'Hind Light'">Margot James</span></a><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:'Hind Light'">, previously a junior Business Minister, will replace Mr Hancock as Minister of State for the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport.</span> <span></span><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:'Hind Light'">In Poland, Digital Minister Anna Streżyńska has now been dismissed. The country’s Prime Minister will is instead creating a new Ministry of Technology and Entrepreneurship, which will be led by</span> <a href="http://www.wirtualnemedia.pl/artykul/jadwiga-emilewicz-z-ministerstwa-rozwoju-na-czele-nowego-ministerstwa-przedsiebiorczosci-i-technologii"><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:'Hind Light'">Jadwiga Emilewicz</span></a><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:'Hind Light'">, a former Vice-Minister of Development.</span> <p style="text-align:justify">
<span style="font-weight:bold;font-size:10pt;font-family:'Hind Light'">EU: European Parliament Think Tank’s “Ten issues to watch in 2018”</span>
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<span></span><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:'Hind Light'">The European Parliament Research Service Blog published an in-depth analysis on “</span> <a href="https://epthinktank.eu/2018/01/09/disinformation-and-cybersecurity-ten-issues-to-watch-in-2018/"><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:'Hind Light'">Ten issues to watch in 2018</span></a><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:'Hind Light'">”. Priorities include the security challenges posed by disinformation and fake news, as well cybersecurity.</span> <span></span><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:'Hind Light'">The report identifies key issues and policy areas which are expected to feature prominently on the political agenda during the New Year. It describes the main actions and initiatives carried out at EU level on the issues, as well as key milestones expected in 2018.</span> <p class="list_paragraph" style="text-align:justify;margin-bottom:12.000000pt" awml:style="List Paragraph">
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