EU member states to track citizen communications: The European Parliament has passed a new law on data retention that allows EU member states to track information related to their citizens' internet usage. The legislation compels Internet Service Providers (ISPs) and telecoms operators to retain data relating to telephony, mobile phone text messaging and internet use for a minimum of six months, in case such information is needed for the detection, investigation and prosecution of serious criminal offences such as terrorism and organised crime. Although the legislation covers the storage of data such as the name of the sender and the location from which they've sent communications, it is not supposed to include the actual content that's been relayed. Industry groups have been unanimous in their criticism of the new laws, with TJ McIntyre, chairperson of Digital Rights Ireland, calling the directive "an appalling piece of legislation." For more on this story, see ElectricNews.net.
UK study questions e-gov commitment: E-government in the UK is creating better quality public services, but there is some doubt over local councils' commitment to deeper ICT-led transformation. That's according to an annual report on local government IT trends by Socitm, an organisation of local authority IT managers. UK councils have invested over STG13 billion in ICT over the past five years, and annual expenditure on IT systems and staff now stands at STG3.3 billion. ICT managers and e-champions polled in the study were largely positive about the benefits of e-government and clear that the local e-government programme is helping to deliver better council services. However, they said that take-up of e-services had been disappointing, blaming poor marketing and possible resistance by the public to changing their user habits. The study also pointed out that council IT spending is well below that of organisations that use ICT aggressively to deliver their business. Socitm noted that better value for money could be achieved if councils systematically measured and monitored the business value generated from their ICT investments.
Online services launched for NI businesses: The Companies Registry in Northern Ireland has launched a number of online services for businesses. The services -- available from the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Investment's website at www.companiesregistry.detini.gov.uk -- include online access to company information and the facility to request and pay for company documents online. Basic company information is available free of charge, along with other information such as the mortgage index and the disqualified directors' register. Specific company documents are available for a fee of STG1 each, and comprehensive company profiles are also available for STG1 each. This compares with a fee of STG3 for documents and for profiles ordered via the Companies Registry's telephone contact centre. Online payments can be made using a credit or debit card or by setting up an online account. "The new online service offers a more convenient way for customers to access information quickly," said Rosaleen McMullan of the Companies Registry. "This e-business service represents the culmination of over three years of change and modernisation in the Registry."
Korea helps firms land foreign e-gov contracts: Korea is making efforts to promote its e-government services abroad, in a bid to help domestic firms break into overseas e-government markets. The Government's Ministry of Public Administration and Home Affairs has set up a team focused exclusively on helping companies to export e-government technologies. This team fields enquiries from countries who express interest in Korea's e-government services and promotes the services at international events. The Government has also launched a project to build a network of IT personnel abroad to help domestic companies advance in foreign e-government markets. With the support of the Government, Korean companies have so far exported e-government technologies worth USD85.2 million and negotiations are currently underway for 42 contracts valued at USD847 million. Among the importers of Korean e-government services are a US port administration, a centre for small and medium-sized businesses in Indonesia and the city of Saga in Japan.
Dubai to re-assess e-services for citizens: The Dubai government in the United Arab Emirates is planning to re-evaluate its e-government services due to poor take-up by citizens, according to a senior government official. Speaking to the Gulf News, Salem Khamis Al Shair, services director at Dubai eGovernment, said that the e-government initiative had succeeded in attracting companies to online services, but had not enjoyed as much success among individuals. "We are going to re-evaluate all services offered online beginning next year to check the standard and quality of the services and to study what is stopping people from using them," Al Shair told the newspaper. The UAE Defence Minister has said that about 90 percent of government services should be online by 2007 and that about 50 percent of transactions should be carried out online by that time. Dubai eGovernment is currently on track to meet this target. "Currently, we have managed to offer 81 percent of services online but the number of people using them is not as high as it should be," said Al Shair.
Autor: Sylvia Leatham
Quelle: ElectricNews, 15.12.2005
