RESULTS OF THE 54TH MEETING OF THE OECD COMMITTEE

UNCLAS STATE 026867

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E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: ECON ECPS EINT
SUBJECT: RESULTS OF THE 54TH MEETING OF THE OECD COMMITTEE
ON INFORMATION, COMPUTERS, AND COMMUNICATIONS POLICY


1. (U) Summary: On March 5-7, Richard Beaird led a
delegation consisting of EEB/CIP/MA, DOC, and FCC
at the 54th meeting of the OECD Committee on Information,
Computers, and Communications Policy (ICCP). The primary goal
of the meeting was to prepare for the OECD Ministerial on the
Future of the Internet Economy in Seoul,Korea, on June 17-18,

2008. Preparation for the Ministerial included the
finalization and declassification of three closely
linked documents to be given to Ministers at the meeting in
June: 1) the Ministerial Declaration; 2) the Policy
Framework; and 3) the Statistical Compendium. Finalization
and declassification of the documents necessitated the
finalization of and declassification of several OECD
background papers referenced by the Policy Framework.
The Committee finalized and declassified most of the
background papers; however, some of the papers lack balance
regarding regulatory approaches and statistical data. USG
hopes to remedy the lack of balance through the submission of
written comments during the process for written
declassification. In general, the U.S. retained its
positions and is pleased with the outcome of the meeting.
One of the outcomes of the meeting was the reelection of Head
of Delegation Richard Beaird as Vice Chair of the ICCP. The
Committee also discussed the future work program and budget,
but decided to delay any decisions until
the 55th meeting of the ICCP on June 19, 2008 (the day after
the Ministerial).


2. (U) The Korean delegation provided other delegations
with an update on their Ministerial preparations. Thus far,
the Korean hosts expect approximately 1,800 participants in
the Ministerial. Thirty-five ministers have confirmed their
attendance. The opening speech will be made by the President
of the Republic of Korea, and will be attended by a number of
high-level Korean officials. The Ministerial on June 17 and
18 will be preceded by a day of stakeholder forums on June 16.


3. (U) The most significant task of the ICCP was the
finalization of the three documents that will be given to
Ministers at the meeting in June: 1) the Ministerial
Declaration; 2) the Policy Framework (which is tied directly
to the Declaration); and 3) the Statistical Compendium. The
Declaration offers a vision for the future based on the
background information provided in the Policy Framework. The
Policy Framework serves as a guiding document for future OECD
research, analysis, and policy guidance through references to
existing OECD papers. The Statistical Compendium is a
compilation of OECD statistics covering the same issues as
the Policy Framework. At the meeting, the U.S. delegation
sought to ensure that these documents reflect USG policy,
particularly on intellectual property rights (IPR). USG
successfully incorporated language in the documents that is
fully consistent with U.S. positions by highlighting policies
that combine efforts to combat digital piracy with innovative
approaches which provide creators and rights holders with
incentives to create and disseminate works in a manner that
is beneficial to creators, users and our economies as a
whole. The member countries finalized and declassified the
Declaration at the meeting.


4. (U) The process for finalizing the Policy Framework
necessitated the finalization and declassification of papers
on the following topics, which make up the work product from
which the Policy Framework is derived:
- Internet address space
- Malicious Software (Malware)
- Developments in fibre technologies
- Public rights of way for fibre deployment to the home
- Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) applications,
impacts and country initiatives
Three additional papers are close to finalization and will be
declassified by written procedure:
- Monitoring Broadband Recommendation
- Convergence and Next Generation Networks (NGN)
- The influence of market developments and policies on
telecomm investments


5. (U) The Secretariat offered member countries additional
time to submit comments on the Policy Framework and will
finalize and declassify the document through a written
procedure. All documents need to be completed by April 8th
to ensure their submission to Council at the end of April.


6. (U) Mr. Beaird expressed that USG has problems with the
third document, the Statistical Compendium, because the data
therein does not include base line access, mobile access and
WiFi; all significant ways by which users gain access to the
Internet. Therefore, USG did not support finalization and
declassification of that document at the ICCP meeting. The
Secretariat agreed that problems with the Statistical

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Compendium will be resolved through a written process over
the next month.


7. (U) Additionally, the Committee recommended to the Council
the adoption of the draft Recommendation on the Protection of
Critical Information Infrastructures and draft Recommendation
for Enhanced Access and More Effective Use of Public Sector
Information. These draft recommendations will be presented to
the OECD Council at its meeting on April 30, 2008 for
Council's adoption.


8. (U) The Committee also discussed the "2009-2010 ICCP
Programme of Work and Budget." Prior to the meeting the
Secretariat asked member countries to rank their preferred

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work and budget priorities. USG submitted the following
priorities: 1) Realising the Future of the Internet Economy;
2) ICT Enabled Innovation; and 3) Information
Security, Privacy and Identity Management. USG's position on
the work program was consistent with the positions of other
member countries. The Committee did not make a final
decision on the program of work and budget. This discussion
will be completed at the 55th ICCP meeting, on June 19th,
2008- the day after the Ministerial.


10. (U) The Committee also reelected Richard Beaird to the
Bureau as a Vice-Chair, and re-elected Richard Simpson as the
Chair. The other Bureau members are:
Hitoshi Aida (Japan)
Daniela Battisti (Italy)
Inuk CHUNG (Korea)
Ervin Kajzinger (HUN)
Kristiina Pietikainen (FIN)


11. (U) Overall, the meeting was a success, and the majority
of USG positions were accepted by the Committee.


12. (U) The 55th meeting will take place on 19 June 2008 in
Seoul, Korea, the day after the Ministerial Meeting.
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