- BITKOM äußert sich im Rahmen einer EU-Konsultation
- Themenbereiche Rating, Altersverifikation und Social Networking
This response is issued on behalf of BITKOM, the German Association for Information Technology, Telecommunications and New Media. BITKOM represents more than 1,100 companies. Its 900 direct members generate a sales volume of 135 billion euros annually and employ 700,000 people. They include providers of software, IT and telecommunication services, manufacturers of hardware and consumer electronics as well as digital media businesses. BITKOM is working, in particular, to improve the regulatory framework in Germany, for modernization of the education system and for an economic policy which encourages innovation.
BITKOM is a member of the Voluntary Self-Monitoring Organisation of Multimedia Providers, Freiwillige Selbstkontrolle Multimedia-Diensteanbieter e.V. (FSM). The FSM was acknowledged as an institution of voluntary self-regulation by the German regulator responsible, the Commission for the Protection of Minors in the Media (Kommission für Jugendmedienschutz - KJM).
On the basis of experience in Germany with the protection of minors in relation to the media, BITKOM basically favours a system of youth media protection which works with self-regulatory and self monitoring mechanisms in preference to state intervention procedures, regarding these primarily as a specific instrument for areas where a very intense level of protection is needed. German experience shows that a system of this kind provides a high level of protection and is able to respond flexibly to new technological trends. Improving the media literacy of minors – and increasingly, too, of parents and educators – is very important to accompany these measures.
From the industry’s perspective, establishing legal certainty for online businesses is crucial. We need practical rules and guidelines on how to deal with suspicious content, so that companies are in a position to offer innovative services without being exposed to unforeseeable liability risks. Find BITKOMs respond to the consultation here for download. The consultion of the commission is available under the following link: http://ec.europa.eu/information_society/activities/sip/docs/ pub_consult_age_rating_sns/pc_2008_info_questions_en.rtf