The European perspective & strategy on the Internet of the future.

THE EUROPEAN PERSPECTIVE & STRATEGY ON THE INTERNET OF THE FUTURE.

The Internet is currently evolving into the mobile Internet and well soon become an « Internet of things » connecting the objects of our daily lives. This evolution of the Internet is going to have major economic, cultural and social impact, but it will also have important political consequences.

Europe has key assets to be one of the key players in the Internet of the future. Along with one of the most important mobile telecom market, Europe has a cultural and scientific heritage, unique in the world. The combination of these technological and informational resources will be one of the foundations of the development of the Internet of the Future in Europe.

European also have to create an ecosystem fostering the innovation of the Internet of things especially Radio Frequency Identity (RFID chips). An important element about the large use of RFID is the debate on privacy issues. An opposition between RFID and protection of privacy has been raised. But this debate should be a thing of the past very soon. Protecting privacy will be key to the economic development of this sector. If this weren’t the case, the european users would « vote with their clicks » and would abstain and refuse to enter into an overly intrusive system.

The citizens need to have a better control and be able to deactivate these new devices. A new fundamental right, the right to the « silence of the chips » will be key for developing an Internet of the future for all the citizens. This right has been stated by the French Presidency of the European Union and reaffirmed recently by the European Commission. For the Internet of Things to develop, we have to create technologies and services in line with the values and principles of the European Union citizens.