Greater privacy rights for European e-government: An EU directive has come into effect which the EU says will protect user privacy and personal data over the Internet, SMS, MMS, fax machines and telephone systems. The Directive on Privacy and Electronic Communications will affect government e-services across Europe, compelling them to ensure that any information exchanged is transferred in a secure manner. Privacy concerns often prevent users from exchanging information with government Web sites, and the EU hopes that the measures will reassure citizens across Europe. The directive applies to all member states and will oblige them to provide a certain standard of data protection, regardless of the respective technologies or providers used. The directive outlines rules for the use of cookies and so-called "spyware", as well as protecting location information produced by mobile handsets, calling-line identification, network security, information stored on terminals and public subscriber directories. Spam, one of the main sources of annoyance for users, will now effectively be banned in the EU under the directive unless the user consents to receive it.
India plans "World Computer" for all: The government of India has allocated INR124 billion, or USD2.7 billion, to provide low-cost Internet devices that can be used even by citizens who are illiterate. Dubbed the World Computer by the Indian administration, the handheld devices will be capable of handling voicemail, e-mail, Internet access and text-to-speech communications. The devices will accept voice commands regardless of the language used and are part of an effort by the Indian government to bridge the worsening technological divide among its people. "You do not want to get into a situation where information, communication and technology and their progress create social and economic chasms between the haves and the have-nots," said Rajeeva Ratna Shah, India's secretary for industrial policy and promotion. "It should take commands orally. There must be total interactivity and literacy should not be a barrier."
Greek government joins forces with Microsoft: Greece has joined NATO and 15 other countries by adopting Microsoft's Government Security Program (GSP), allowing them to access source code for the Windows operating system, conduct security and privacy audits and build secure computing environments, among other functions. Poland also joined the program recently when Microsoft chief Bill Gates met the Polish President and Prime Minister in Warsaw. Greek Minister for the Interior, Public Administration and Decentralization Costas Skandalidis said of the deal, "I believe that the cooperation between public administration and the IT industry is an important prerequisite in order to face common challenges in the future successfully, including the major issue of computing systems' security."
EU and China collaborate on Digital Olympics: Working groups from the EU and China have met in Brussels at an information day to assess progress on their joint project to create the Digital Olympics for Beijing 2008. The project will see the Olympic Games go high-tech, including the construction of what the group calls a "Digital Beijing". The EU-China Working Group on Digital Olympics meets twice a year, in Europe and China respectively, and the cooperation is being used to build on relations between the two. The collaboration is also being used to highlight China's rapid IT development and will significantly boost European-Chinese IT industry connections.
British government gets e-culture: UK Culture Minister Estelle Morris has announced Culture Online, an Internet initiative designed to provide access to the arts and cultural institutions. The first of seven projects has already been launched by the Department for Culture Media and Sport and includes the ArtisanCam, where e-visitors can observe and learn how an artist works on each stage of a project. Other aspects of the scheme include Backstage, an insight into theatre production and Scoop, which provides virtual newspapers from historical eras, such as the Victorian Times and the Roman Gazette. The Department says the project will make artistic culture more accessible to young people in the UK. It is also hoped that Culture Online will improve the numbers of UK citizens using government e-services.
Quelle: Electric News, 05.11.2003
