The first pillar of the plan: breaking down barriers in cross-border online activity. Differences between contract law, taxes, consumer protection and copyright laws among member states inhibit trade, the strategy says.
As long as we don't get German copyright laws, and video game censorship, in Finland.
Geo-blocking of online content – the geographical fencing in of video services like Netflix NFLX -1.24%, for instance – across the EU should be abolished, the strategy paper says. Copyright law should be updated and harmonized.
In theory nice, but I just don't see the giant companies agreeing with this. What is more likely is that if content would be blocked in one country, it is now blocked in ALL countries.
The next pillar of the strategy: fix the fractured and underinvested European telecoms market.
Wait, does this mean..?
Simultaneously, rules surrounding so-called over-the-top communications services like Facebook’s WhatsApp instant messaging app will be scrutinized. This last element has long been championed by the likes of Deutsche Telekom DTEGY +0.22% and other European operators, who see billions of people use WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger and Skype, while revenues from SMS and voice calls decline.
Oh yes. Telecom companies want EU to come down hard on internet-based communication. I'm afraid soon we will have "Facebook, Skype for 5e / month" -type stuff come from telecoms.
I'm sorry for my pessimism, all of these things are in theory nice. In practice.. in this age of mass surveillance and corporate rule (digital music, TV and movie industries for example), it is very rare to see politicians make pro-consumer decisions in digital space.