 Sunday, 05 September 2010 |
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The Lefebvre Hanneman Consultancy (LHC) is a Brussels-based public affairs consultancy specialised in European consumer protection policy. LHC is recognised both for its in-depth knowledge of national and European legislation and for its understanding of the policy drivers which influence the regulation of the marketing, advertising and media sectors.
Bloggers once again play vital role in US elections
The internet and the political blogosphere have played an important role in this year’s midterm elections in the United States sending out an important message to politicians and political parties alike: A new political battleground is emerging and no political party can afford to avoid it! As the internet continues to evolve, and becomes a part of everyday life, it is becoming an integral part of electoral campaigning, shifting the focus away from more traditional media fora and changing the traditional concept of politics as we know it.
The news is out! The result from the US mid-term elections shows an overwhelming win in favour of the Democrats and has confirmed the predictions that President George W. Bush would have to pay a heavy price for the current situation in Iraq. For the first time since 1994, Democrats ...
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The Triumph of Politics over Technology
Following recent events, anyone who assumed that the internet is borderless will have to reassess their views. Last week saw the reality of internet control brought into the grim light of day as the US Congress voted to ban bank and credit card payments to gambling firms. This scenario is, however, a strangely familiar one.
If President Bush signs the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act into law as he is expected to do, then US credit card companies and banks will be forced to check for and refuse payment for most forms of online gambling. Instead of trying to manage the technology on the internet e.g. making service providers block online gaming sites the US government has effectively increased pressure on the banking industry.
Protectionism Déja-vu?
The recent and intensified moves by the US government to restrict online gaming smacks of hypocrisy as it clamps down on overseas competition with the façade of protecting consumers.
This scenario of protectionism is strangely familiar, a common side- effect of the growing number of ...
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Digital Policies: Some Progress but not Enough
In a speech given by Viviane Reding, Commissioner for Information Society and Media, the 2010 framework, designed to foster economic growth and jobs in information society as part of the renewed Lisbon strategy ,has not come far enough.
As she adressed the first annual review of the 2010 framework, Commissioner Reding highlighted that more needs to be done to harness technology to enable economic growth and job creation. To this she added that information and communications technology (ICT)are contributing less to European growth then they did 10 years ...
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Audiovisual conference « Between Culture and Commerce »
From 20 to 22 September in Liverpool, participants of the conference on audiovisual policy and the revision of the Television Without Frontiers directive, considered the different policy options proposed by the European Commission in the six ”Issue Papers”, in conjunction with the broad policy outline on information society stated in the “i2010” Communication.
This three-day conference was the final part of the extensive consultation procedure organised by the Commission before submitting its new proposal. The conference title suggested the need for balance between industry-friendly and culturally correct.
In order to make this consultation as inclusive as possible, the Directorate General for the ...
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Advertising self-regulation – protecting consumers and business
Recent years have seen the advertising industry accused of launching an ‘obesity epidemic’, perpetuating a culture of binge-drinking, and ‘consumerising’ our children. But are such accusations justified? Would banning advertisements for certain products solve the problem? Does a self-regulatory approach benefit consumers?
-By Dr. Oliver Gray, Director-General of EASA
Advertisements have existed ever since media were available to carry them. They are essential to the functioning of the European economy – they are vital for distributing product information, to generating demand, and, lest we forget, to funding a large portion of the media.
But the argument that ...
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Innovative Communications in EU Politics
Communication Strategy and Institutional Affairs Commissioner Margot Wallström is the first Commissioner to set up a blog on the Europa website, aimed at setting up instant communication with EU citizens and stakeholders.
Further examples of new communications in politics include the mayor of Rome sending his New Year wishes to members of his party by SMS and UK party leaders alerting their supporters by e-mail as soon as Tony Blair announced the 2005 UK election date.
The Brussels Connection asked LHC to research the use of new media in EU politics. LHC used existing research and examined the European Institutions websites and practices. A survey of Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) was carried out.
The survey of MEPs revealed that e-mail is ...
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