5G: the EU wants to assert itself in the “war” of industrial data

Audio 03:01

By: Pierre Benazet

In Brussels, the European Commission will present its proposals for an EU strategy for data and artificial intelligence on Wednesday 19 February. The Commission has already proposed a framework for the technology that should accompany the expected explosion in the volume of data, namely 5G.

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The Commission has decided to adopt a very warlike tone regarding the new technologies to come. For her, it is clearly a question of going on the offensive. The Commissioner responsible for the internal market, Thierry Breton , also repeats it over and over again: the industrial data war will open and Europe will be the battleground. The Commission can only recognize that Europe has missed the first wave of data, which is now benefiting the digital giants, mainly American, but also Chinese. The objective? Do not miss the second wave which will concern businesses more than citizens .

Towards a Europe at the cutting edge of technology

The Commission estimates that every 18 months the data produced worldwide doubles in volume. In addition, four-fifths of the data produced today comes from data centers. A fifth of connected objects, from the telephone to the household appliance via cars and this proportion should be reversed within five years. This train of artificial intelligence will deeply affect transport, industrial production and consumption. The development of 5G , coupled with the explosion in the volume of data produced, should lead to a new industrial policy for Europe.

Take back possession of your data

The European Commission also says that Europe must regain possession of its data. This concerns citizens as much as administrations or businesses. For the first, the European Union has already started to issue rules like the general data protection regulation, but it should offer to go much further and regulate the action of web giants.

► Each state to choose whether or not to trust Huawei, according to the EU

The Internal Market Commissioner has expressly warned that the EU should adopt new laws to protect users of social media after the visit of Facebook boss Mark Zuckerberg to Brussels. Rules that will also apply to commercial and advertising matters. A set of laws and regulations should be announced this Wednesday, February 19 for the end of the year, with the objective that the data produced in Europe, remain in Europe.

Digital protectionism

Europe therefore changes its strategy and decides to show protectionism vis-à-vis artificial intelligence. Indeed, the EU realizes that it is sitting on a digital gold mine, thanks to its single market and thanks to the fact that it has not deindustrialized like the United States, for example. And this wealth of data must first benefit Europeans and their businesses.

According to the Commission, thanks to patents held by European companies, Europe is well placed to take advantage of the technological revolution that is looming. In this way, it will be able to both boost its competitiveness and guarantee that the privacy of citizens is preserved.

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