Alexander von Humboldt Institut für Internet und Gesellschaft
HIIG
Das HIIG unternimmt keine Lobbyarbeit sondern ist ein reines Forschungsinstitut.
ID: 591788027670-62
Lobbying Activity
Meeting with Olivia Gippner (Cabinet of Executive Vice-President Frans Timmermans)
17 Aug 2021 · Presentation of the Green Deal, role of science and the IPCC in EU policy making
Response to Application of Article 3 (3) (i) and 4 of Directive 2014/53/EU relating to Reconfigurable Radio Systems
3 Mar 2019
To whom it may concern,
I am a member of the Commission's Expert Group on Reconfigurable Radio Systems as the representative of the Alexander von Humboldt Institute for Internet and Society (HIIG, https://www.hiig.de) in Berlin, Germany (member type C - Organisation: Academia, Research Institute and Think Tanks).
First, I want to thank all individuals, groups, organisations and businesses who submitted feedback on a possible activation of Art. 3(3)(i) of the RED through a delegated act.
Against the backdrop of seven expert group (EG) meetings, a considerable amount of input from different EG members and other stakeholders, and long, encompassing and deep discussions on a large number of issues regarding the activation of Art. 3(3)(i) and its foreseeable consequences, I am more than astonished that the Inception Impact Assessment fails to mention most of the many problems we have identified in the discussions at the EG meetings. Instead, the Inception Impact Assessment (IIA) looks like a whitewashing exercise. Many of the problems we have discussed in the EG have also been brought up by other commenters.
* The expert group has acknowledged that even if the RED does not explicitly mandate lock-downs, economic forces, including the risk of being fined, will drive manufacturers to locking down their devices.
* The discussion has shown that Art. 3(3)(i) (see Options 3 and 4 in the IIA) creates market barriers favouring dominant market players, may pose insurmountable obstacles for smallest, small and medium enterprises, and may harm both competition and innovation.
Besides the market as well as market players, there are foreseeable negative impacts on:
* Free and Open Source Software (FOSS) and hardware projects and communities.
* Individual and institutional users of FOSS software and hardware, e.g. consumers (loss of choices in the market, loss of control), companies, and public institutions.
* All software manufacturers providing software for devices produced by other manufacturers.
* Community network projects, e.g. Freifunk.
* Scientific research, whether academic or not, education and teaching, but also commercial R&D.
* All aspects of security, especially for consumer-grade devices with their considerable shorter product shelf life, discontinued or otherwise unsupported ("orphaned") products, with possibly severe network effects.
* The provision of updates, new and improved functionality to products already placed on the market.
* Fundamental rights and freedoms, especially Art. 7 and 8 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union (privacy and data protection), but also other information-related rights, due to the increased dependence on large manufacturers, less secure products, and less user control over the use of devices.
At the next meeting on Friday, the 15th of March, the expert group will not only discuss the input received from all commenters, but also address the issue of how to ensure that the impact assessment on the proposed delegated act will be both encompassing and thorough and take into account all adverse impacts on all stakeholders and societal values.
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