Brussels, 27 April 2018 – ETNO, the Association representing Europe’s leading telecom operators, is keen to engage in the debate on the European Data Package and the Platform-to-Business (P2B) Regulation, presented this week in Brussels by the European Commission. Such debate will shape an important part of the digital value chain.

Lise Fuhr, ETNO’s Director General, said: “This is an important first step towards promoting a more open and up-to-date policy environment for European innovation. ETNO supports a comprehensive view of the digital value chain as well as credible European leadership in AI and data innovation”.

Artificial Intelligence and PSI: values and European innovation should be in the spotlight

Swifter customer service, virtual assistants or ultra-smart 5G networks. These are just some examples of how Artificial Intelligence (AI) and data innovation can improve the life of citizens and boost digital-driven growth. For this reason, we will engage in the debate following this week’s Communication on Artificial Intelligence as well as the Public Sector Information (PSI) Directive. We encourage the European Institutions to advance their AI and Open Data plans, in collaboration with all stakeholders, by:

• promoting the European approach in a global context, with particular regard to European values, trust and a human-centric approach;
• supporting innovators with substantive EU funding, especially with the Multiannual Financial Framework;
• ensuring data-driven innovation, trust and a responsible use of personal data, by relying on strong horizontal tools such as the GDPR, rather than intrusive sector-specific regulation;
• encouraging Member States to make as much public information as possible available for responsible re-use, with a view to promoting cloud computing, big data and AI;
• fostering the competitive and well-functioning market for privately-held data, relying on industry-driven initiatives and avoiding mandated solutions in this field.

Platform-to-Business: first steps to promote a comprehensive view on the digital value chain

As European businesses increasingly compete in global digital markets, we acknowledge the European Commission’s targeted approach to addressing issues that might arise in the relationship between online platforms and their clients.

Online platforms provide a range of clear benefits for users and society, and they can create changes to the competitive dynamics, such as for businesses depending on large on-line platforms. In this context, when platform-related issues are identified, there is merit for tackling them at the European level. Such an approach is without prejudice to the role of competition policy in addressing issues related to online platforms.

PDF available here.