EU-US talks aim to bridge internet rifts

Date: 20/02/03

By Karen Carstens

US CONGRESSMEN held talks with MEPs yesterday on security, privacy and intellectual property rights for the internet, in a bid to bridge transatlantic rifts.

"We are here to build upon and maintain a good dialogue between the US Congress and the European Parliament," said Bob Goodlatte, a Virginia Republican.

Along with fellow Republican Rick Boucher, also from Virginia, he chairs the Congressional Internet Caucus. Both Congressmen were on their fourth annual visit to Brussels as part of the Transatlantic Policy Network (TPN). They highlighted legislation they have proposed which seeks to limit the amount of time the US government maintains data on individuals. Boucher said the idea was to keep information on file only as long as is deemed "absolutely necessary".

"We're talking about months, not years," he said.

Dutch Liberal MEP Elly Plooij-Van Gorsel stressed the "very important role" a proposed EU-wide agency on network security would have, even though "it is very difficult for member states to give part of their sovereignty in security to Brussels".

Boucher said one area where the EU and US are currently at odds is passenger rights.

The European Commission last week said a demand from US Customs for airlines to disclose detailed passenger information may violate data protection laws and that airlines could be sued if they complied.

Gilles Gantelet, the Commission transport spokesman, said yesterday that the rules could perhaps be "restricted to transatlantic flights".

Goodlatte said: "There is a good case to be made for having a list of names in advance so you can run them through criminal databases. All you have to do is take a list of people who are legitimate travellers and run it against a list of people who are potential suspects."

This does not rule out, however, that "protecting the privacy of individuals" is a legitimate goal. In the area of intellectual property rights, Boucher proposes "a voluntary solution" in two steps to the recording industry.

First, companies should "put their entire inventory of music on the internet for purchase at reasonable prices".

Second, they should mount aggressive public relations campaigns informing the public about the value of copyrights.

"We believe much more in self-regulation and a freer flow of information between individuals than is the case in Europe," Goodlatte added.

US Congressmen held talks with MEPs on 19 February 2003 on security, privacy and intellectual property rights for the internet, in a bid to bridge transatlantic rifts.