International

The internet began life as a free space where everyone could be heard and seen and where we could sniff out new information and make new contacts, nearby or far away, but recent years have seen a growing threat to this freedom. Increasing interference from states, but also the rise of multinationals, have meant that less and less freedom remains. Now we have in addition the European Commission’s plans for a digital internal market: claiming that this is to protect the consumer, these plans give as much space as possible to big corporations at the expense of smaller providers on the internet. Time to demand, inside and outside the Parliament, that we take back the internet: we want to see the return of the human scale.

Foto: MKH Marketing

The Commission continually emphasises that consumers in the European Union suffer discrimination when it comes to making on-line purchases. You can see offers on the internet which often, when you look into them, apply only to consumers from a particular member state. And if you’re abroad and want to watch your own country’s TV channels, it turns out that as a result of copyright certain programmes aren’t available in the country where you live or are visiting. In the Commission’s view that must change, and quickly, at least within the EU: one big digital market where consumers can shop to their heart’s desire.

There are of course sometimes objections to this which are just. If a multinational is active in almost every member state, it seems strange that you pay a different price for the same product bought online, depending on where you are. And yes, I also find it a nuisance if when in Brussels I can’t watch certain programmes via the internet

There’s another side to this, however. Things are moving quickly in the retail trade, and increasing numbers of shopkeepers are coming to the conclusion that unless they can sell on line they won’t survive. Even the local baker has a website and that’s handy all round. It would, however, be ridiculous to make it compulsory for this baker to offer their wares to consumers in other member states. That should not be expected of such a small business.

The same goes for copyright. For big names in the arts world it’s a fine thing to have the same rights across the entire EU, but a local singer in the Netherlands will be much less interested. The greater the number of countries in which copyright is sought, the dearer it becomes.

The digital market is here, and I am myself happy to make use of it. We can also certainly improve things to make access to this market easier. That must not, however, be at the expense of small firms. According to the sector’s European umbrella group the UEAPME, 85% of all small and medium-sized companies do not expect to enter the export market. We must avoid a situation in which, via the digital market, they are pressured into mergers or into allowing themselves to be taken over in order to be able to serve the entire market. It is these small firms which tend to have links to the society in which they are active. We need to look after and value these, and that baker for me should be able to continue undisturbed to deliver only to customers in their neighbourhood. Human scale must be protected, because that’s essential to maintaining our human dignity. I shall therefore be working hard during the coming months in the European Parliament to ensure this.