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With the European Commission unveiling its digital strategy
this week, we take a look at how media in Spain, the Netherlands,
Germany and Portugal are reporting on digital innovation in a European
context.
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Brussels in the Clouds
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El País takes stock of the European Commission’s data
strategy, in particular when it comes to the management and use of
data to support the EU’s economy. The article mentions how the
Commission plans to connect existing storage platforms to create a
large cloud where EU citizens’ data could be collected and shared. For
this, the EU envisages a common space that interconnects cloud
services from different providers and shares data with important
sectors, including the financial sector. While it could take up to
three years to put this plan into practice, such a space could make EU
firms less dependent on US companies. While the plans still need to be
further developed, the EU will also need to clarify the legal use of
data for industrial purposes, which could represent a market value of
around €1.5 trillion by 2027.
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Trust Issues
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De Volkskrant offers its thoughts on the EU's new package
of digital measures and tries to assess whether these proposals will
allow the EU to keep up with countries like China and the US, who are
currently leading in the tech race. Asking experts for their insights,
the article highlights winning points but also shortcomings of the
Commission’s plans. By taking a clear stance on ethics and values,
Europe can influence companies such as Google and Facebook, who know
they risk fines if they don’t cooperate. However, a problem is the
lack of an ambitious European strategy for the development of AI
talent. Meanwhile, the EU has put a large emphasis on the fact that
citizens must trust the digital world as much as the old-fashioned
systems. To accomplish this, the EU will need to properly address the
problems of disinformation and hate speech on the large
platforms.
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The H Word
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Deutsche Welle writes how during the Security Conference
in Munich last weekend, cybersecurity experts discussed the emerging
digital future, including the challenges of 5G and potential threats
posed by the Chinese telecoms manufacturer Huawei. While Europe has
been trying to invest more in 5G technology, European governments are
wary of the security risks. Quoting Margaritis Schinas, the European
Commission Vice-President whose responsibilites include security, the
article highlights that "Europe's approach to security remains
fragmented" but that Member States will have to cooperate and share
intelligence on this. Speaking with a representative of the US
cybersecurity firm FireEye, Deutsche Welle adds that while
autocratic governments can sometimes try and hive off their networks,
the democratic instinct should be to cooperate to address security
threats and to build trust around sharing data.
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Don't be fooled
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Sol examines the possible consequences of a growing
popularity of applications that enable users to create fake, yet
realistic looking videos, or 'deepfakes'. While the less experienced
users might use them for entertainment or to mock celebrities or
politicians that they do not support, these technologies hold a
dangerous potential when used on a wider scale where they can support
manipulative disinformation campaigns. Sol
recalls a study conducted by INOV-INESC, a Portuguese institute
dedicated to technological development, which shows that a large part
of the population consumes news without checking the information for
validity. Consequently, their opinions on important matters might be
affected by altered facts. The article mentions the EU-funded EUNOMIA
project as one of the tools protecting the public from manipulated
information by creating a platform that checks content and the
reliability of the source on social media.
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