digital economy regulation

This week’s edition features a new ruling by the Court of Justice of the EU regarding access to electronic communications metadata by law enforcement authorities and an update on the European Commission’s plans for connected and automated mobility. It also lists events taking place this week.

Policy makers, car manufacturers and technology companies met virtually at the 6th annual Future of Transport conference on 2 March 2021 to discuss the issues related to the transition to greener and better-connected mobility. The stakeholders who participated in the event agreed on the importance of electric vehicles and of connected, multi-modal mobility in a European strategy for sustainable and smart mobility.

Actions foreseen in the strategy include establishing an environmental barometer to monitor the environmental impact of digital services and infrastructure, environmental considerations in 5G spectrum allocation and targets to reduce energy consumption by data centres.

The draft law would allow highly automated vehicles to drive in regular operation in defined areas on public roads throughout Germany.

Colombian ICT Ministry (MinTIC) issued guidelines for the development of blockchain projects by public entities. The main purpose of the guidelines is to help public entities to identify and implement simple use blockchain cases against the backdrop of Colombia´s digital transformation.

The Slovak government adopted on 24 February 2021 the amendments to the national cybersecurity act. The new act provides for enhanced responsibilities for the national security authority (NBÚ), including the capacity to ban or restrict specific products, processes or services when used in essential services.