Parliamentary Assembly: Resolution on the Information Society and a Digital World

IRIS 1999-6:1/32

Emre Yildirim

Institute for Information Law (IViR), University of Amsterdam

On 26 May 1999, the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) adopted Resolution 1191 (1999) entitled “Information society and a digital world”. This Resolution follows up on PACE Recommendation 1332 (1997) on the scientific and technical aspects of the new information and communications technologies (see IRIS 1997-7/1).

The Resolution focuses on the growing importance of the information society and digital world that are being shaped by the rapidly developing information and communication technologies. To ensure the democratic development of the information society, the PACE calls for a proper balance between the various components of the digital world.

The PACE emphasises the importance of ensuring the improvement of “the quality of the information and communication technologies, while pursuing the aim of increased well-being for citizens”. It therefore calls on Council of Europe member states and on the European Union to adopt measures that will improve and promote the use of the digital world in, inter alia,educational, cultural and commercial contexts.

The PACE calls for open access to networks for all citizens and for the establishment of web-based European education networks. In order to facilitate access to these networks, the PACE stresses the need for broadband communication channels and reliable computers with powerful processing capacity. The measures proposed by the PACE include the promotion of electronic commerce, the interoperability of digital libraries, digital security and the establishment of standards for collaborative computing.

According to the PACE, adequate legislation and the reform of law enforcement agencies are required to check the inevitable flood of cybercrime, as well as encouragement of the use of the new information and communication technologies, and the promotion of ethics and codes of good conduct. Finally, the PACE calls for “scenarios and procedures” to be worked out for “coping with” digital crises, e.g. the millennium bug.