Boost set for privacy on internet

Starting on Thursday, sale of users’ personal information to be banned

A fundamental new cybersecurity law, which will take effect on Thursday and is intended to safeguard sovereignty in cyberspace, national security and the rights of citizens, bans online service providers from inappropriately collecting and selling users’ personal information.

China has more than 730 million internet users－more than the population of the European Union－and nearly 700 million mobile phone users, according to government statistics.

President Xi Jinping called in April for better use of the internet to benefit the people and the country. Industry insiders interpreted this as indicating an integrated development of the internet and the economy.

According to a State Council five-year informatization plan, China will expand e-commerce transactions to more than 38 trillion yuan ($5.5 trillion) by 2020, up by 16 trillion yuan over 2015.

However, internet-related scams and data theft began to abound as internet use made economic headway in China.

The new law, which was passed by the country’s top legislature in November, makes it clear that no one can use the internet to conduct fraud or sell prohibited goods.

Those who violate the provisions and infringe on personal information will face hefty fines, it stipulates.

To protect individuals’ privacy, internet service providers are forbidden by the new law from collecting user information that is irrelevant to the services provided, and they should handle the information they do collect in line with laws and agreements.

Moreover, users will have the right to ask service providers to delete their personal information if such information is abused, according to the law.

Additionally, the new law says, cybersecurity management staff members must also protect information that is obtained and are banned from leaking or selling the information, including privacy and commercial secrets, it said.

Shen Yi, deputy director of the Cyberspace Governance Study Center at Fudan University, said that the people’s sense of benefit should be the evaluation criteria for cybersecurity and informatization, rather than simply technical indexes.

Last year, China conducted several internet-clearing campaigns that included checks on websites, search engines and mobile apps, previous reports said. Some live-broadcast websites were shut down after they were found to be hosting or streaming illegal content, such as pornography.

In March, China issued its first international strategy for cyberspace cooperation to improve such cooperation worldwide.

Several other regulations will also take effect on Thursday. A regulation on online news requires government permission before releasing news on instant messaging apps or social websites. Additionally, civilian drones weighing more than 250 grams must be registered under real names to improve civil aviation safety, and the use of highly toxic pesticides on edible agricultural products is banned.



Festival puts pressure on Chinese railways

The Dragon Boat Festival holiday from Sunday to Tuesday is putting pressure on China’s railway system, as more and more people choose to travel by train.

Some 12.1 million passenger trips were made Sunday, up 8.8 percent year on year, China Railway, a state-owned company, said Monday.

The company will add 253 trains Monday, when about 9.1 million passenger trips are expected.

It forecast that total railway passenger trips would reach 44.6 million between Saturday and Tuesday, up 10.5 percent year on year.

The Dragon Boat Festival, also called the Duanwu Festival, is traditionally celebrated on the fifth day of the fifth month on Chinese lunar calendar. It falls on Tuesday this year.

The festival commemorates ancient Chinese poet Qu Yuan. Chinese people eat zongzi, a type of rice dumpling, and race dragon boats during the festival.



China mulls Belt and Road green fund

Efforts will also be made to set up special funds for resource exploitation and environmental protection, said the plan for environmental cooperation on the Belt and Road released by the Ministry of Environmental Protection.

These funds should be used to support environmental infrastructure, capacity building and green industry development in Belt and Road countries, according to the plan.

It set the goals of working to achieve the environmental goals of the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and enhancing environmental cooperation in an all-round manner by 2030.

To realize these goals, China will strengthen policy communication with the Belt and Road countries, share its green development concept and practices, build an environmental cooperation platform, and promote exchanges between think tanks and environmental organizations.

A big data service platform on environmental protection and an environmental monitoring system will be established, according to the plan.



Digital Single Market: EU negotiators agree on the WiFi4EU initiative

The European Parliament, the Council and the Commission reached tonight a political agreement on the WiFi4EU initiative and its funding which supports installing free public Wi-Fi hotspots in local communities across the EU: in public squares, piazzas, parks, hospitals and other public spaces.

As stated by Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker, the WiFi4EU initiative will contribute to the vision of having “every European village and every city with free wireless internet ac­cess around the main centres of public life by 2020.”

Vice-President in charge of the Digital Single Market Andrus Ansip welcomed tonight’s agreement and said:“The Digital Single Market strategy aims to build a fully connected Europe where everyone has access to high-quality digital networks. The WiFi4EU initiative will improve connectivity in particular where access to the internet is limited. WiFi4EU is a welcome first step, but much more needs to be done to achieve high-speed connectivity across the whole EU territory – such as improving Europe-wide coordination of spectrum and stimulating investments in the high-capacity networks that Europe needs.“

The political agreement includes a commitment by the three institutions to ensure that an overall amount of €120 million shall be assigned to fund equipment for public free Wi-Fi services in 6,000 to 8,000 municipalities in all Member States. The specific sources of the funding will be finalised in the ongoing legislative discussions on the review of the current Multiannual Financial Framework programme. Local authorities will be able to apply for funding once the system is set up. 

In practice, local public authorities (municipalities or groups of municipalities) wishing to offer Wi-Fi in areas where a similar public or private offer does not yet exist will be able to apply for funding via a simple and non-bureaucratic process. A grant allocated in the form of vouchers will be used to purchase and install state-of-the art equipment, i.e. local wireless access points, while the public authority will cover the running costs of the connection itself. 

Background

 

The Commission reviewed recently its Digital Single Market strategy – one of the top priorities of the Juncker Commission – taking stock of the progress made, but also calling on co-legislators to swiftly act on all proposals already presented. The EU has been quick to achieve important agreements on the end of roaming charges on 15 June 2017 for all travellers in the EU, on the portability of content which will allow as of early 2018 Europeans to travel with the films, the music, the video games or the e-books they have subscribed to at home or on the release of the 700 MHz band for the development of 5G and new online services. On remaining proposals, the final outcome is now negotiated in the European Parliament and the Council.

 

For More Information

 



High Representative/Vice-President Federica Mogherini visits Arg

Bilateral political and economic relations, as well as support to regional integration and to multilateralism were at the core of the High Representative and Vice President of the European Commission, Federica Mogherini’s second visit to Argentina, which took place today. HR/VP Mogherini met in Buenos Aires with President Mauricio Macri and the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Susanna Malcorra. 

The European Union and Argentina are strong partners in promoting multilateralism in the current international context, a rules-based world order, human rights and fundamental freedoms, the implementation of the Paris agreement on climate change, as well as free and fair trade. The meetings reconfirmed their shared commitment to the UN system to ensure peace, security and sustainable development.

Mogherini stressed with both interlocutors that Argentina can count on the European Union’s support during its G20 presidency and in preparation of the WTO ministerial meeting in December. 

During the meetings, developments in Latin America were addressed. On Venezuela, Mogherini reaffirmed the EU’s support to regional initiatives and appreciated Argentina’s engagement to stop the violence, foster political dialogue and promote reconciliation among Venezuelans, in compliance with the constitutional norms and democratic procedures.

Mogherini praised Argentina as the pro tempore Mercosur presidency, in particular in advancing negotiations on a new EU-Mercosur trade  agreement. Rapid and good progress has been made so far, and both sides  agreed to maintain their focus on shared objectives so as to overcome any remaining obstacles and to reach a deal by the end of the year.

Mogherini used the opportunity to congratulate Minister for Foreign Affairs Malcorra on her new position and thanked her for her personal friendship and excellent cooperation since December 2015, which has boosted both bilateral and inter-regional relations with the EU. The EU congratulates newly nominated Foreign Minister of Argentina, Jorge Faurie and looks forward to continuing our close partnership.

The High Representative/Vice-Presidnt also had informal exchanges with Senate Provisional President, Federico Pinedo, Vice Foreign Minister, Pedro Villagra and members of the Argentinean Foreign Policy think tank CARI, presided by former Foreign Minister Adalberto Rodriguez Giavarini.

Before leaving for Chile, Mogherini had a meeting with EU Member States ambassadors’ at the EU Delegation.

For more information:
Catherine Ray 0032.498.969921
Maja Kocijancic 0032.498.984425