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[ecrea] Call for Papers: EuroCPR: Online content: policy and regulation for a global market

Sun Sep 26 10:27:32 GMT 2010



26th European Communications Policy Research Conference (EuroCPR)

 

Online content: policy and regulation for a global market

 

27-29 March 2011, Ghent, Belgium 

 

In May 2010, the European Commission published the “Digital Agenda for Europe”. One of the priorities is the development of a “vibrant digital single market”. Online content services are at the heart of the policy debate. A single European market for online content is perceived as being crucial for European competitiveness and growth. However, the reality of fragmented content markets illustrates the diversity of Europe’s cultures, languages and regulations. To some extent, firms benefit from national markets, e.g. because this reduces competition and allows for national pricing but firms also suffer from the fragmentation of Europe’s markets, e.g. because it limits scale advantages.

 

The Digital Agenda is not just about the economic and cultural implications of the single market. Market trends are challenging nearly every definition, policy and regulation for online media. As audiovisual, music and other content services move online, demarcations within and between media and personal communication services and between platforms blur. Online content cuts across dichotomies such as open-closed, linear-interactive, professional-amateur, public-private, mobile-fixed and national-global. Issues around copyright, standards and interoperability become critical for the availability and use of online content.

 

The Digital Agenda for Europe addresses these policy issues, many of which were discussed earlier in the 1997 Green Paper on convergence. Since then, market and regulatory developments have cast new light on these issues. The Commission has announced a number of new initiatives which will critically define the shape of European online content markets, and the role of European players in global markets.

 

We invite the EuroCPR community to reflect critically on the lessons learned over the last 15 years, and to contribute constructively to ongoing debates about policy and regulation for online content services. More specifically, we invite research papers that address:

 

·       A single European market for online content services? How is the European market developing for different media and for different parts of the value chain? Which European and global actors will benefit from a single European market? How do firms combine national and international strategies for innovation, service delivery and advertising? How is the single European market hindered by EU, national and non-governmental regulations and procedures for copyright licensing, copyright clearance, cross border transactions and VAT?

 

·       New competition and access issues: Net neutrality is part of a broader policy debate on competition and access at the intersection of networks, platforms and content. How are specific parts of the content market affected? Search engines are another issue. How dominant are search engines, what is the economic and cultural impact, and is social networking becoming an alternative for searching and advertising? What are the new intermediaries, e.g. actors that bundle content and devices, and actors that provide content distribution networks? Which new competition and access issues are clear enough to start a debate on market definitions and dominance, and whether policy makers should develop ex-ante regulation or rely on competition law?

 

·       Data protection and privacy: de-centralised data capture (e.g. by users and sensors) and cloud computing allow for ever-more data to be gathered and used for commercial purposes and for use by public organisations. Online content services that exploit these data, challenge the effectiveness of existing regulations. The exploitation of data is at the heart of many business models. Social networking and virtual worlds are two of the many services. Can we avoid legacy regulation that may stifle innovation and nascent markets? Do we need to adapt existing regulations to protect citizens and create legal certainty for firms and public organisations?

 

·       Social networking: the development and take-up of social networking sites has been spectacular. The economic and social importance of social networking has made it a focal point in policy debates on privacy, security, digital literacy, and the competitiveness of Europe’s ICT and media sector. What policy issues emerge from studies on user behaviour? How is social networking integrated with other content services? How do we protect and empower youngsters? What is the right balance between self-regulation and formal regulation to protect privacy, within countries and across borders? What is the role of European firms in social networking, and why?

 

·       Digital literacy: the social and economic relevance of digital literacy is not disputed. However, the picture is less clear on how digital literacy contributes to social inclusion, involvement of users in the innovation process, take-up of new services and the competitiveness of firms. A related question is how policy programmes add drivers and remove barriers for digital literacy. What can policy makers learn from specific case studies, empirical analysis and policy evaluations?

 

·       Transnational governance: as new online services evolve, what role do national regulators, international institutions such as ACTA, ICANN, Internet address registries, or private sector self-governance play in setting and enforcing rules? How should inconsistencies between media services delivered over the Internet and those delivered through nationally regulated media outlets be resolved? How much responsibility should private sector internet intermediaries take for policing misbehaviour and enforcing policy? 

 

·       Online content services after 2020: How do new services benefit from the semantic web, 3D, augmented reality, virtual reality, open data (e.g. open public sector data), and the combination of ICT and biotechnology and/or nanotechnology? What are the results of rigorous foresight studies that explore new content services and the implications for policy and regulation?

 

Policy design and implementation can benefit from evidence-based papers (empirical studies and impact assessments), prospective analysis and original theoretical/analytical contributions. We welcome papers that compare policy trends in Europe and other regions of the world.

Practical Information

 

Time lines

- Deadline for abstracts: 11 October 2010

- Notification of selected abstracts: 3 November 2009

- Deadline of final papers: 1 March 2010

 

Abstracts

- Abstracts should be no longer than 1000 words and should address the research question, outline the main results, theory, methods and data (as appropriate) and highlight the policy relevance.

- Abstracts should be sent to: (Monica.Arino /at/ ofcom.org.uk) and (Aphra.kerr /at/ nuim.ie)  

- All abstracts will be subject to a blind review procedure by the members of the EuroCPR Scientific Committee.

 

Publications

A selection of papers will be published in Communication & Strategies, Telecommunications Policy and Info, the journal of policy, regulation and strategy for telecommunications, information and media.

 

Format

The conference takes place in a single room, with sessions consisting of two presentations with discussants, and a general debate. The format has deliberately been kept small - with a maximum of 80 participants - thus favouring quality over quantity and encouraging a high level of interaction. We aim for a mix of senior experts and young talents, from academia, policy and industry. The conference includes a social programme.

 

Registration

Registration will open the 3rd of November 2010 at www.eurocpr.org. The conference fee is 390 Euro (290 Euro for PhD students).

 

Organisation committee

Martijn Poel, TNO, the Netherlands (chair)

Monica Ariño, Ofcom, UK

Leo Van Audenhove, VUB, Belgium

Anastasia Constantelou, University of Aegean, Greece

Karen Donders, VUB, Belgium

Aphra Kerr, National University of Ireland, Maynooth

Jean Paul Simon, JRC-IPTS, Spain

 

EuroCPR

With the continuous aim to bring together academics, policy makers and industry representatives, EuroCPR seeks to stimulate independent critical reflection, whilst being responsive to policy challenges. For additional information please visit www.eurocpr.org





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