The European Commission said it will introduce the first legislation in its Digital Single Market strategy before the end of this year. The DSM policy was first presented in May and public consultations on a range of issues, from e-commerce to telecoms regulation, started during the summer. In a blog post, the European Commission Vice President for the Digital Single Market Andrus Ansip said the EC has been working hard since then to advance the plans aimed at supporting the expansion of digital services across the internal market.
The first two legislative proposals, on supporting cross-border e-commerce and reforming copyright rules, will be presented by year-end, Ansip said. The first aims to boost e-commerce, by providing "simple and effective" cross-border contract rules for consumers and businesses. The aim is to ensure the same rights and obligations for buyers and sellers regarding defective digital content apply across the EU. No specific EU law applies in this area at the moment. Consumer contract rights also need to be aligned for domestic and cross-border online sales, for example with legal guarantees, Ansip said.
The copyright law targets cross-border use of digital services. So people who have signed up to online content services in one EU country – for books, music, games, films, drama, sport – can use those services when they are temporarily present in another EU country. Ansip said a broader copyright reform is also planned, and the EC's plans will be presented in a strategy paper that will appear also by the end of this year.
The aim is to introduce proposals for the rest of the topics covered under the Digital Single Market policy by the end of 2016. In his blog posting, Ansip also defended the EC's progress to date on issues such as an end to roaming surcharges and new net neutrality legislation. The commissioner specifically addressed concerns about net neutrality, saying "the current deal is undervalued" given the huge step forward it is for a unified policy across Europe. While most market concerns seem to centre on the possibility of varied interpretations and enforcement of the net neutrality rules, Ansip said: "I trust regulators to enforce the rules properly and that if we see problems, we have the tools to guarantee that the internet remains open."
Source: http://www.telecompaper.com/news/ec-promises-first-dsm-legislation-by-year-end--1114306