Telefónica Public Policy & Telefónica España Regulatory teams
The Minister of Energy, Tourism, and the Digital Agenda, Álvaro Nadal, presided over the first meeting of the Work Group for the Digital Rights of Citizens which counted with seven experts from the academic and civil society fields. The objective is to open the debate regarding the rights and obligations of citizens in the digital environment.
“A consumer in the analogue environment cannot be in a worse situation than one in the digital environment or vice versa. The experts will define in which circumstances it can be applied. This basic principle could be part of a regulation that could be helpful to create standards” explained Álvaro Nadal.
Álvaro Nadal together with the experts.
The expert group is composed of: Christoph Steck, Director of Public Policies at Telefónica; José Luis Piñar,Head of the Google Chair on Privacy, Society and Innovation; Tomás de la Quadra-Salcedo, professor of Administrative Law at Carlos III University; Ricard Martínez;Director of the Chair of Privacy and Digital Transformation at Microsoft; Diego Naranjo, Senior Policy Advisor of the European Digital Rights association; Miguel Pérez Subías, President of the Association of the Internet Users and Ofelia Tejerina, secretary of the Internet users association.
This group will address some of the matters that concern citizens the most in the digital field, such as: freedom of information and communication, privacy, intellectual property, the right to oblivion or the equality and protection of minors, among others.
Within the European Union, these rights are currently being regulated in numerous legislative texts related to the privacy and protection of information, the Digital Single Market, the regulation of the telecommunications industry, or the rights of consumers on the Internet. With this initiative, Spain positions itself among the most advanced European countries in terms of the rights of citizens.
Furthermore, regarding the relationship between the digital world and democracy, the experts will debate about electronic administration, transparency, participation, reutilization of public information and open data.
The group’s next milestone will be the organization of the International Congress on the Digital Rights of Citizens which will be celebrated on May 30 in the Queen Sofía museum of Madrid, and which will include the main national and international experts in this matter.
