ESIS - Regulatory Developments in Denmark


Denmark

Historical and juridical viewpoint

Changes over the last three months (Oct.-Dec. 98)

On-going developments

Since 1994, the Ministry of Research and Information Technology (http://www.fsk.dk/) has had the overall responsibility for the application of information technology. They have been very active in promoting the development of the information society and accelerating the move of the Danish society into the information society age. At the same time, in the area of liberalisation of the Danish Telecom sector, the Ministry has been able to speed up the process to achieve a full liberalisation by the 1st of July 1996. With the election to the Danish Parliament in March 1998, a new Minister of Research and Information Technology has been nominated, Mr. Jan Trøjborg.

I - Historical and juridical viewpoint

Since 1994, the Danish Government has define an IS strategy and set up a current process by submitting an annual Statement to Folketinget and an Action Plan of IS initiatives. Each year, the Government takes stock of the situation and corrects the course.

1. Ministry of Research and Information Technology

In 1993 a change in Government led to the establishment of the Ministry of Research. into focus. Related areas of responsibility from other ministries were also transferred to the Ministry of Research. Thus the Ministry of Research and Information Technology has the overall responsibility for the application of information technology. The election to the Danish Parliament in March 1998 caused a new Minister of Research and Information Technology: Mr. Jan Trøjborg.

2. March 1994: Report "Information Society by the year 2000"

A two-member Committee (L. Dybkjaer and S. Christensen), appointed by the Government in March 94, published a report "Info-Society 2000" (http://www.fsk.dk/fsk/publ/info2000-uk). This report, forms the basis for the Government's preliminary conclusions. Based on these conclusions the first action plan was developed in 1995.

3. IT-Policy Action plan 1995

The IT Policy Action plan 1995 contains 13 specific objectives and lines of action http://www.fsk.dk/fsk/publ/it95-uk/). The main political aim was for the public sector to play actively together with the private sector on a proactive strategy for Denmark's development towards the information society.

4. IT-Policy Action plan 1996

The IT Policy Action Plan 1996 "Info-Society for All - The Danish Model" (http://www.fsk.dk/fsk/publ/1996/it96-uk/) contains 11 specific objectives and lines of action: The Info-Society for All; IT and education; Working life; Companies in the Info-Society; Infrastructure; IT security; Public administration; Health; Environment and traffic; Research; Telecom services. Each of these actions includes a number of concrete initiatives (http://www.fsk.dk/fsk/publ/itsikker/).

5. IT Policy White Paper 1997

In May 1997 the Ministry of Research and Information Technology published the IT policy white paper for 1997 (http://www.fsk.dk/fsk/publ/1997/autoriteter/uk) which covers the following items:

"The "new democratic agenda set up by the Internet"
"The civil rights in the information society"
"Flexibility" e.g. in the working life"
"Open public sector"
"The digital Trade and Industry" e.g. Teleshopping.

These items from the IT policy white paper for 1997 have been followed by an IT-policy Action Plan, which includes a number of initiatives.

6. IT Policy Action Plan 1997/98

The IT Policy Action Plan '97/'98 emphasises four areas:

To ensure that the citizen's rights in the information society are observed with the same seriousness and enthusiasm as when the central principles of the constitution were formulated in the middle of the last century.
To ensure the existence of IT literacy on all levels, with both future generations and in those groups who influence future generations.
To revitalise the interaction of citizens and administration to realise the vision of an open public sector.
To develop the necessary security solutions to ensure a breakthrough in electronic trade and other communications requiring top-level security.

These four areas are implemented through six policies (a Danish version of this publication is available on the Internet: http://www.fsk.dk/fsk/publ/1997/it97/):

POLICIES	INITIATIVES
POLICY 1: CITIZENS' RIGHTS IN THE INFORMATION SOCIETY	"Fundamental rights in the information society" : preparation of a green paper concerning citizens' rights in the information society. "All libraries to have free Internet access for everyone": the administration will encourage the Danish municipalities to secure free access to the Internet at all libraries by the end of 1998. "Better, less expensive, Internet access": a task force will be created in order to examine to what extent the legal framework for the telecommunications sector provides actual opportunity for all types of agents to compete on the Internet market. Moreover, launch of a study of the market development (selection of Internet servers and service rates). "Senior citizens and IT": appointment of a task force to explore opportunities for seniors in the IS. "IT must speak Danish": to further the development of high-quality synthetic speech in Danish. "Universal Design". Danish IT products should be available to everybody - including the physically challenged. Announcement of a competition for universally designed IT products.
POLICY 2 : OPEN PUBLIC SECTOR	"Self-service": in co-operation with the Danish ministries, agencies, counties and municipalities, common development project to stake out the overall guidelines for organising public information and self-service on the Internet, as well as devise a common plan for self-service in the public sector. "All user-oriented forms on the Internet": in 1998, all ministries and government agencies should make all forms for citizens and businesses available on the Internet. "A home page for every government agency" by January 1, 1998. "An official e-mail address for every government agency": this obligation will be effected pending a more specific decision by the Minister of Research, though no sooner than January 1, 2000. "Legal Information freely available on the Internet": the administration is moving to make the government's electronic database, the Legal Information, freely available on the Internet from 1998 on. Then, the public will be able to find, read and download laws and regulations free of charge. "The Danish Legal Gazette on-line": appointment of a bill committee to establish the Danish Legal Gazette (Lovtidende) and Ministerial Gazette (Ministerialtidende) on-line, as a binding rule, beginning in early 1999. "The Danish Official Gazette on-line": an electronic issue of the Danish Official Gazette will be available on the Internet in 1998. "Improved service in the courts". "Testing open mailing lists" on the Internet: it will evaluate the extent to which IT can facilitate an improved principle of public insight into government administration without this leading to a disproportionately increased strain on government. "Internet Bookstore": the Government Information Service is establishing an "Internet Bookstore" where citizens will be able to order all government publications.
POLICY 3 : FLEXIBLE ADMINISTRATION	"Communication between municipalities, ministries and government agencies": Danish ministries and government agencies shall increase their use of electronic format rather than on paper. "Establishing a new distribution system for real estate data": in co-operation with a number of the registers' owners, the Ministry of Housing will establish a new, common IT-based distribution system for real estate data. "Establishing public address sharing": the move towards address sharing is part of a new bill to collect and standardise the physical allocation of addresses in government. "A common, computerised visa register": to achieve faster service for visa applicants, as well as a general rationalisation of the visa authorities, the Ministry of the Interior is taking the initiative to establish a common, interdepartmental visa register. "Government Intranet": connecting the networks with Internet technology will facilitate a cohesive, flexible infrastructure - a governmental Intranet.
POLICY 4: DIGITAL BUSINESS	"Consumers' rights": the proposal from the Ministry of Business and Industry "Legal protection for the consumer on transnational digital networks" will be followed by initiatives dealing with purchases and payments on the Internet "Taxing Net-based services": the Ministry of Taxation has appointed a task force to describe current tax laws for digital transactions and consider the need for changing regulations in the field. "Corporate Denmark": the objective of the system is making Danish companies more visible in the global marketplace, as well as attracting investors, trade partners and customers - both domestically and internationally. "EDI in public procurement": the Economic Agency, along with the State and Municipal Procurement Service, is undertaking the development of a basic procurement system, consisting of an EDI module for the public financial control systems
POLICY 5 : SECURITY AND SAFETY IN THE INFORMATION SOCIETY	"Bill for digital signatures": the bill will serve as the foundation for giving electronic documents the same legal validity as documents on paper. "Developing security solutions": in order to avoid developing closed systems the Ministry of Research is taking an initiative aimed at ensuring the development of open solutions for secure electronic communication. "Privacy on the Net": through the IT Security Council, the Ministry of Research is taking the initiative to review questions about the right to privacy, etc "Making the most of the Internet": the Ministry of Research is taking the initiative for individual ministries to examine their need for changed legislation or new regulations to ensure optimum use of the Internet's potentials. "Twenty-first Century dates in IT systems": in close co-operation with the State Forum on IT, the Ministry of Research will follow up on the public sector's handling of the problem of the year 2000.
POLICY 6 : DEVELOPING COMPUTER LITERACY	"The IT promise": the Ministry of Research, in co-operation with all relevant parties, will conduct tests on how to improve IT skills among its staff. "Education of teachers and continuing education": the Ministry of Education has initiated a review, in which experts of the various course subjects will examine the opportunities and consequences for each subject when bringing IT into the classroom. The review will be completed in 1998. "Developing state-of-the-art teaching tools": the Ministry of Education and Research, in co-operation with the Business Promotion Council is launching a project to create new, state-of-the-art teaching tools for public schools. "Electronic institutions of learning": this initiative intended to reveal the influence of information technology on the courses and task distribution of these institutions. "Virtual education co-operation in the Øresund Region": a high-speed communication link will be established to provide the electronic foundation for the co-operation among the universities in the Øresund Region. "National sub-strategy for IT research": the Ministry of Research has appointed a strategic committee with representatives from the Ministry of Research, the Ministry of Business and Industry and the Ministry of Education, as well as the Research Councils. "Electronic research libraries": by 2001, the Ministry of Cultural Affairs, the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Research will have established "Denmark's Electronic Research Library" (DERL). "The Centre for Multimedia": in 1997, the Centre for Multimedia will be established in the form of a virtual centre.

7. Tax Laws

A Bill introduced in the spring of 1997 intends to exempt from fringe-benefit taxation personal computers in the homes paid by employers' as long as they are intended primarily for work purpose. The Bill is seen as recognition of the fact that tax laws have long posed an obstruction to the development of tele-working.

8. European Computer Driving Licence

In the spring of 1997, the European Computer Driving Licence (ECDL) has been promoted. It is a certificate that documents the capability to use IT in practice. Today it is possible all over the country to join a test and then acquire an ECDL. The Danish Data Association is taking care of the administration of the ECDL. At European level the "European Computer Driving Licence Foundation" is the administrator of the ECDL. In Denmark there is over 230 of test centres all over the country. Status after the first year is that about 20.000 people have taken the Computer Driving Licence in Denmark. In the autumn of 1998, another 20.000 to 50.000 people are acquiring the Computer Driving Licence.

9. Sale of TeleDanmark

AMERITECH purchased 42% of the State owned company in the autumn of 1997. In the agreement with the Danish State, it is stated that if Ameritech does not get half of the seats in the board, the sale will be nullified. With this operation, TeleDanmark is fully privatised.

In the spring of 1998 it was proclaimed that another big American Company SBC had bought Ameritech. However, it is the general opinion that the new owner of the largest Danish Tele-operator will not force major changes for TeleDenmark - at least on a short view.

10. Regulatory changes

The regulation of the prices of subscription and use of telecommunication provided by TeleDanmark has been changed towards more flexibility by the end of 1997. To protect users of telecommunication with little usage from have been burdened by a high subscription cost TeleDanmark is obliged to offer a mini-subscription with low subscription costs. Users of mini-subscriptions are not allowed to use other tele-operators, as this would allow for speculation.

11. A home page for every government agency

From the beginning of 1998, all municipalities, counties, ministries and government agencies have established their own home page on the Internet. At the minimum, the home pages contain the most basic information about the institution, such as its address, opening hours and e-mail address.

12. A sign for Year 2000 being prepared

In March 1998, the Ministry of Research and Information Technology has asked active partners to implement the sign in corporation with trade organisations. The suppliers who join the "Sign Year 2000 prepared" guarantees that millennial change will not cause any problem on their products.

13. European expert hearing on digital signatures and encryption

On April 23-24, 1998, a European expert hearing on digital signatures and encryption took place in Copenhagen. The hearing provided the opportunity for the European cryptography industry to meet the Government and discuss opportunities and barriers for the industry. It was not the aim of the hearing to reach agreement between the EU Member States on political issues on encryption or digital signatures.

14. New strategy for IT-, Tele- and Electronically-sectors

In April 1998 the Minister of Business and Industry proclaimed that the IT-, Tele- and Electronics-sectors should have its own strategy. The National sub strategy for the IT-research was ready in the summer of 1998. With this strategy the Ministry of Research and Information Technology has made the framework for IT-research.An English version of the publication is available on the Internet http://www.em.dk/engpubl/default.htm.

15. New edition of the official Danish homepage

In the autumn of 1998 the official Danish homepage (http://www.danmark.dk) was re-launched in a better edition. It is a goal that www.danmark.dk shall be the entry to about 4700 public institutions in Denmark.

II - Changes and adjustments over the last three months (October 98- December 98)

1. Action Plan for Information- and Communication Technology in the education-sector

The action plan from the Ministry of Education covers the next five years. It includes five items:

Students and IT
Teachers and IT
Subjects and IT
Equal and flexible access to lifelong education
Co-ordination of IT based research and education

2. The IT University

The Ministry of Research and Information Technology has introduced the "IT University", which will be launched in 1999, will educate persons with high IT qualifications and have a research center.

3. Digital signatures

The Ministry of Justice and the Ministry of Research and Information Technology will divide the process concerning the use of digital signature in two stages. Thus, the most complicated and problematic parts will not delay the more simple parts.

The Ministry of Research and Information Technology will introduce a bill about authorisation of key-centre, responsibility of key-centre, technically and security roles. Furthermore, the Ministry of Research and Information Technology will distribute about 1.4 Mio ECU to pilot projects in public authorities, which use the digital signature to bring better service to the citizen and the companies.

A committee has been set up by the Minister of Justice to address the legal effects; it is asked to work as quick as possible.

At the European level, it was not possibility to reach a common attitude after the council meeting the 27^th of November 1998.

4. The IT Security Council

From January 1, 1999, the IT Security Council will be changed witn both new members and new terms of reference. The IT Security Council will in the future make juridical and technical statements about IT-security questions.

5. The problem of Year 2000

Over the last months, there has been an intense criticism of the Minister of Research and Information Technology Mr Jan Trøjborg regarding his handling of the year 2000 problem. It is the Ministry of Research and Information Technology who has the governmental responsibility, but it has been suggested to move the responsibility to the Ministry of Finance or to the Prime Minister's department.

6. Electronic commerce

During the summer and autumn there has been an intense debate about the use of credit card on the Internet. The Danish Data Association is one of the actors who demands an answer to the question whether the national debit card "Dancard" is to be used on the Internet or not. Therefore, it is now expected that the Ministry of Business and Industry will regulate the area.

III - On-going developments

1. The liberalisation of the telecom sector

After the telecommunication market has been fully liberalised and TeleDanmark privatised, the main regulatory task for the Government is to ensure that the market is well functioning and that the dominating operator is not misusing his position.

In the area of Mobile telephony, two new entrants started the service in the first quarter of 1998. To gain customers they have to provide a broad geographical service, which has required them to establish roaming with GSM-900 service providers.

2. The Digital Denmark

The Minister of Research and Information Technology Mr Jan Trøjborg has proclaimed that he will prioritise the preparation of a new white paper with the title "The Digital Denmark". It should be seen as a replacement to the publication "Information Society by the year 2000" and it should be published in the summer of 1999. It is not only a project for the Ministry of Research and Information Technology but of the whole Government. The Danish Government has appointed a committee of two members: The former Minister for the Environment Mrs. Lone Dybkjær and Mr Jørgen Lindegaard, Managing Director for GN Store Nord.

3. Year 2000 activities in Denmark

The year 2000 initiatives from the Danish government have started a number of actions.

Year 2000 Forum is established representing almost 50 different organisations. Monthly meetings in the Year 2000 Forum contribute with mutual information on initiatives within the different organisations. Joint efforts on special subjects are initiated. Special working groups are working on year 2000 problems in 9 areas which are: Embedded system, Establishment of a database on the Internet, Health sector, Infrastructure and public service, Traffic structure, Legal questions, Consumer conditions, Contingency planning and In-service training.

The Year 2000 Secretariat contributes with lectures and information on many occasions. The most extensive work has so far been a survey on the situation in small and medium sized enterprises. A homepage on Internet is accessible on the address http://www.2000.parat.dk.

The minister of research and IT has decided to supplement the government year 2000 plan with new initiatives concerning openness. This shall be seen in the light of feed back from Year 2000 Forum indicating lack of openness concerning the year 2000 problems and uncertainty of year 2000 status in the public sector, as well as missing openness and transparency concerning supplier readiness.

4. Home PC’s paid by employers

About a year ago the first home PC’s paid by employers were given to Danish employees. It was after the legislation of exemption of PC’s from fringe benefits tax. Until now a high number of Home-PC’s are paid by employers and installed in the private homes of the employees.