EuroDIG conference tackles questions of connected TV

The sixth European Dialogue on Internet Governance (EuroDIG) took place in Lisbon on 20 and 21 June, drawing 500 European professionals to discuss net neutrality, copyright issues related to online content and connected (or smart) TV.

Organized by the Portuguese government, the Portuguese Internet Society and Portuguese EBU Member RTP, the meeting was supported by the EBU and other bodies such as the Council of Europe and the Internet Governance Forum (IGF) secretariat.

The EBU, the Council of Europe, the European Commission (EC) and the Portuguese government promoted a seminar on connected TV, which was moderated by Elizabeth Markot from the ECs DG Connect Unit and RTP news presenter Pedro Bicudo.

It was a debate that sprang from the Commission Green Paper on converged media ("Preparing for a Fully Converged Audiovisual World") and led to several high-level conclusions that were presented back to the Plenary.

Among the key conclusions reached were:

Connected TV puts the citizen at the centre; however, for citizens to draw full benefit special attention needs to be given to media literacy and to the role of intermediaries and/or gatekeepers;

The importance of fundamental rights and values underpinning audiovisual policies, such as child protection, protection of vulnerable groups (such as the elderly and low income families), accessibility, data protection, media pluralism and cultural diversity;

Huge opportunities arising from connected devices, provided that certain conditions are met, such as stakeholder cooperation. A striking example of this is accessibility services for the visual or hearing impaired, a growing group in Europe due to the aging population.

Following the debate EBU Head of Media and Communications Law, Michael Wagner, said: "What struck me most was the shared belief that connected devices and hybrid services should be used to empower consumers. They should be able to combine the best of both worlds, broadcasting and internet, without their privacy or consumer rights being undermined, and without their choice of content being influenced by powerful intermediaries."

--

--

LINK:	http://www3.ebu.ch/cms/en/sites/ebu/contents/news/2013/06/eurodig-conf...
	See more stories from ebu

Most recent headlines