Viik: Ansip Has Learned From ACTA Period
At his confirmation hearing for the position of Commission vice-president for the digital single market, Andrus Ansip displayed a marked change from his policies as prime minister, said Estonian Internet pioneer and thinker Linnar Viik.
Viik told ERR radio that the topics on which Ansip - once the nemesis of anti-ACTA protesters who opposed what they saw as restrictive rules on intellectual property - sent a strong message on topics such as net neutrality and European-US relations on privacy.
A large part of Ansip's statement was devoted to rights of users, data protection, privacy safeguards and articulating the rights of Internet users, Viik noted.
"Ansip clearly expressed support for the charter of rights of Internet users. The former prime minister has learned from his experiences in that post and [understands that] the current approach must be very balanced with the rights and freedoms of users must be in the spotlight."
Viik commented that the restrictions were rife. "Europe is a clearly fragmented region and there are many regulatory restrictions that could strike everyday information society denizens as completely pointless and incomprehensible.“
Viik did add that practical implementation of freedoms was still an open question.
"The biggest challenge is not the correctness of principles and opinions but how the functions can be implemented in a situation where he has high amount of trust capital, his competence is regarded highly but where every commissioner and directorate has its own job queue and victories to win and business to take care of.“