U.S. knocks plans for European communication network
U.S. knocks plans for European communication network
Reuters – 18 hrs ago
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States on Friday
criticized proposals to build a European communication network to avoid emails
and other data passing through the United States, warning that such rules could
breach international trade laws.
In its annual review of telecommunications trade
barriers, the office of the U.S. Trade Representative said impediments to cross-border
data flows were a serious and growing concern.
It was closely watching new laws in Turkey that led to
the blocking of websites and restrictions on personal data, as well as calls in
Europe for a local communications network following revelations last year about
U.S. digital eavesdropping and surveillance.
"Recent proposals from countries within the European
Union to create a Europe-only electronic network (dubbed a 'Schengen cloud' by
advocates) or to create national-only electronic networks could potentially
lead to effective exclusion or discrimination against foreign service suppliers
that are directly offering network services, or dependent on them," the
USTR said in the report.
Germany and France have been discussing ways to build a
European network to keep data secure after the U.S. spying scandal. Even German
Chancellor Angela Merkel's cell phone was reportedly monitored by American
spies.
The USTR said proposals by Germany's state-backed
Deutsche Telekom to bypass the United States were "draconian" and
likely aimed at giving European companies an advantage over their U.S.
counterparts.
Deutsche Telekom has suggested laws to stop data
traveling within continental Europe being routed via Asia or the United States
and scrapping the Safe Harbor agreement that allows U.S. companies with
European-level privacy standards access to European data.
"Any mandatory intra-EU routing may raise questions
with respect to compliance with the EU's trade obligations with respect to
Internet-enabled services," the USTR said. "Accordingly, USTR will be
carefully monitoring the development of any such proposals."
U.S. tech companies, the leaders in an e-commerce
marketplace estimated to be worth up to $8 trillion a year, have urged the
White House to undertake reforms to calm privacy concerns and fend off digital
protectionism.
In the report, the USTR also criticized restrictions on
Internet telephony in India and China, foreign investment limits in countries,
including China, and efforts to increase the rates U.S. telecommunications
operators must pay in order to connect long-distance calls in Pakistan, Fiji,
Tonga and Uganda.
(Reporting by Krista Hughes; Editing by Dan Grebler)
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