RESULTS OF THE 54TH MEETING OF THE OECD COMMITTEE

UNCLAS STATE 026867 SIPDIS SIPDIS 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 SIPDIS 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 SIPDIS 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. RICE