In recent months, the EU has adopted a range of new legislation to promote fairness and responsible governance on digital platforms. Now is the time to implement it. In addition, the European Commission has opened a debate on changing Europe’s telecom rules to boost investment and create a single market for electronic communications.
At WIK’s conference, on 24-25 September in Brussels, we will take stock of the latest investigations and implementation measures and look ahead to the key policy questions that will face the new Commission and Parliament.
Confirmed speakers include:
- Renate Nikolay: Deputy Director General, DG CNECT European Commission
- Nils Behrndt: Deputy Director-General for Digital transformation, Justice and Consumers, DG JUST European Commission
- Rita Wezenbeek. Director Platforms Policy and enforcement at DG CNECT, European Commission
- Alberto Bacchiega, Director for digital platforms at DG Comp, European Commission
- Carlota Reyners Fontana, Director IT and Digital, DG Competition of the European Commission, currently seconded to the Cabinet of the President of the European Commission as acting Digital Advisor
- Kamila Kloc, Director Digital Decade and Connectivity, DG CNECT, European Commission
- Agustin Reyna, Director General Designate, BEUC
- Alexandre de Streel, Professor Namur University, Academic Director CERRE, Visiting Professor College of Europe and Sciences Po Paris
- Heike Schweitzer, Professor Berlin Humboldt University
- Jürgen Kühling, Professor Regensburg University
- Sally Broughton Micova, Associate Professor in Communications Policy and Politics at the University of East Anglia and CERRE Academic Co-Director
- Richard Feasey, Senior advisor CERRE, Inquiry Chair UK Competition & Markets Authority
- Tonko Obuljen, BEREC Chair 2024, HAKOM
- Robert Mourik, Commissioner ComReg, BEREC Chair 2025
- Daniela Brönstrup, incoming Vice-President BNetzA
- Klaus Steinmaurer, Executive Director for Telecoms and Post at RTR
- Senior representatives from digital platforms including Microsoft, Google, Aptoide, DuckDuckGo
- Senior representatives from across the telecom value chain including Telefonica, Vodafone, Iliad, Amazon Web Services, Cellnex
Day 1 of the conference (24 September) “Implementing Europe’s new acquis on digital platforms”, will explore:
- Lessons from the first year of the Digital Services Act: content moderation and risk assessment measures and implications for elections and pornographic platforms
- Enforcing the Digital Markets Act, with mini-panels focused on mobile ecosystems, and search and advertising
- Ensuring fairness for consumers in the digital age: insights from the fitness check of consumer protection law
- Implementing Europe’s new rules for cloud portability, data sharing rules for connected devices and more
The day will close with a keynote debate in which leaders from academia, civil rights groups and industry share their first impressions and key lessons from the new EU digital acquis,
On day 2 “Telecoms policy; time for a rethink?” we will explore:
- Priorities and achievements in digital infrastructure: perspectives from the European Commission and the BEREC Chair
- Future rules for the telecom sector – examining the Commission’s White Paper for a Digital Networks Act
- Debating the case for consolidation – a review of recent merger cases and joint ventures in fixed and mobile telecoms
- Achieving the Gigabit Connectivity targets: the role of State Aid and spectrum policy
- Preparing for the Gigabit Infrastructure Act: fibre-ready buildings, access to public facilities, digital permits and more
- Case studies in implementation including copper switch-off and the application of the new Universal Service rules on “adequate broadband”
