The growth of the Internet and the emergence of a new computer-savvy generation leaves Europe well-placed to capitalize on the digital economy, the European Commission said on Tuesday.
In its Digital Competitiveness report, the commission said 56 percent of Europeans had become regular Internet users by last year, a jump of one third since 2004. Half of all households and more than 80 percent of businesses had a broadband connection.
“A new generation of Europeans mastering the Web and ready to apply its innovations is coming on stage,” the commission said. “These ‘digital natives’ hold great potential for Europe’s growth.”
The commission said Internet use would soar as members of this new generation begin their professional lives, “increasingly shaping and dominating market trends.”
“Europe’s digital economy has tremendous potential to generate huge revenues across all sectors,” EU Commissioner for Information Society and Media Viviane Reding said. “We should seize the opportunity of a new generation of Europeans who will soon be calling the shots in the European marketplace.”
The report found that the biggest Internet users were those aged under 24, with 66 percent of them surfing the Web every day compared with only 43 percent of the rest of the EU population.
But the report found that although this age group is very active on the Internet, it does not want to pay for the services it offers.
Of those aged 16-24, 73 percent had used the Internet to create and share content, double the European average.
But these young users stand out from the rest of the population in their attitude toward the payment of online content, the report said.
They perceive many of the services and content to be free of charge or simply provided as part of a flat-rate Internet connection fee, it said.
The study showed that about 33 percent of young people said they were not willing to pay anything at all, which was twice the EU average.
Reding said the growing problem of Internet piracy was “a vote of no-confidence in existing business models and legal solutions” and highlighted “serious deficiencies” in the present system.
She called for a less polarized debate on the issue and urged all sides to examine other options.
“It is necessary to penalize those who are breaking the law,” she said.
“But are there really enough attractive and consumer-friendly legal offers on the market?” she said.
SLOW-MOVING STORM: The typhoon has started moving north, but at a very slow pace, adding uncertainty to the extent of its impact on the nation Work and classes have been canceled across the nation today because of Typhoon Krathon, with residents in the south advised to brace for winds that could reach force 17 on the Beaufort scale as the Central Weather Administration (CWA) forecast that the storm would make landfall there. Force 17 wind with speeds of 56.1 to 61.2 meters per second, the highest number on the Beaufort scale, rarely occur and could cause serious damage. Krathon could be the second typhoon to land in southwestern Taiwan, following typhoon Elsie in 1996, CWA records showed. As of 8pm yesterday, the typhoon’s center was 180km
TYPHOON DAY: Taitung, Pingtung, Tainan, Chiayi, Hualien and Kaohsiung canceled work and classes today. The storm is to start moving north this afternoon The outer rim of Typhoon Krathon made landfall in Taitung County and the Hengchun Peninsula (恆春半島) at about noon yesterday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said, adding that the eye of the storm was expected to hit land tomorrow. The CWA at 2:30pm yesterday issued a land alert for Krathon after issuing a sea alert on Sunday. It also expanded the scope of the sea alert to include waters north of Taiwan Strait, in addition to its south, from the Bashi Channel to the Pratas Islands (Dongsha Islands, 東沙群島). As of 6pm yesterday, the typhoon’s center was 160km south of
STILL DANGEROUS: The typhoon was expected to weaken, but it would still maintain its structure, with high winds and heavy rain, the weather agency said One person had died amid heavy winds and rain brought by Typhoon Krathon, while 70 were injured and two people were unaccounted for, the Central Emergency Operation Center said yesterday, while work and classes have been canceled nationwide today for the second day. The Hualien County Fire Department said that a man in his 70s had fallen to his death at about 11am on Tuesday while trimming a tree at his home in Shoufeng Township (壽豐). Meanwhile, the Yunlin County Fire Department received a report of a person falling into the sea at about 1pm on Tuesday, but had to suspend search-and-rescue
RULES BROKEN: The MAC warned Chinese not to say anything that would be harmful to the autonomous status of Taiwan or undermine its sovereignty A Chinese couple accused of disrupting a pro-democracy event in Taipei organized by Hong Kong residents has been deported, the National Immigration Agency said in a statement yesterday afternoon. A Chinese man, surnamed Yao (姚), and his wife were escorted by immigration officials to Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport, where they boarded a flight to China before noon yesterday, the agency said. The agency said that it had annulled the couple’s entry permits, citing alleged contraventions of the Regulations Governing the Approval of Entry of People of the Mainland Area into the Taiwan Area (大陸地區人民進入台灣地區許可辦法). The couple applied to visit a family member in