european parliament, dg internal policies of the union, directorate e: legislative coordination and...

European Parliament, DG Internal Policies of the Union, Directorate E: Legislative Coordination and Conciliations, STOA (Science & Technology Options Assessment)

DTV4ALL, 28 October 2010, European Parliament, Brussels

Miklós Györffi, STOA

Looking Forward in the ICT and Media Industry

Technological and Market Developments

– Concepts, Data and Issues –



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Contents

• The Setting – STOA Projects• Topics of the STOA Report• Sources used for Report• Selected findings from Report:

– Concepts (NEM, UGC, Web 2.0)– Other Findings:

• Micropayment Systems, • DRM and Copyright, • Personalisation and Privacy, • Exploitation through Web 2.0, • The Future? – The Semantic Web



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The Setting – STOA Projects

• The Client: STOA (Science and Technology Options Assessment Panel of the European Parliament)

• Panel has 15 members delegated by regular Committees of the EP (e.g. ITRE, Empl, Envi, Tran, ).

• Contractor: European Technology Assessment Group does scientific work for STOA (5 Partners, led by FZK-ITAS)

• STOA projects not linked with legislation, designed to alert parliamentarians to future issues

• The project: literature survey + validation through review by experts (28 written responses)



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Topics of the STOA report

• Concepts• European Media Industries in the World• Segments: Audiovisual, Mobile, Games• Issues

– Micropayment Systems– Digital Rights Management– Spectrum policy for mobile media– Web 2.0 and commercial exploitation of

UGC– Vision of the Semantic Web– Automatic translation– Online-games as a paradigm for educational

content



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Main sources taken into account

TechnologyPlatform NEM

ISTAG

Consultants (KEA,Screen Digest et al.

PWC etc.) Communications &

Directives

OECD

JRC IPTS

FP6/FP7

DGINFSO

Web 2.0



Networked Electronic Media(technology platform)

Network Technologies

Digital interactive TV

Online (fixed line) Mobile, wireless

Publishing || TV progr. || film || music || radio || games, VR || social media/SNS/web2.0

User

User’s converging media experience



Research topics:

• Content creation

• Networking and delivery infrastructure

• Media presentation and content access

• Enabling technologies

Networked Electronic Media(technology platform)



On-demand viewing is likely to be driven by TV-based platforms including IP TV rather than public Internet platforms

Digital content covers:• online digital streaming,

• digital movie/TV downloads

• video-on-demand

• music downloaded from the Internet

• music downloaded to wireless phones

• online advertising

• online video games

• wireless video games

• electronic books

• online gaming

European Media Industries in

Context



• It is possible to make exact digital copies of files representing recorded sound and motion.

• There is no longer any need to possess a physical artefact such as a tape, record or CD to be able to make a copy since files can be stored on a broad range of media.

• Like any other digital file, audio-visual files can be transmitted on data networks such as the Internet without compromising quality.

• Much of the equipment needed for the production of commercialised audio-visual content is now affordable for amateur use. The Internet provides a platform for transmitting or distributing such content, making it easier than in the past for content producers to reach an audience.

Shift to Digital in the Audio-Visual

Sector



• Outreach of the Internet: it makes it possible to address dispersed minority audiences, who might not account for a large percentage of any local population, but represent a sufficiently large market to make content distribution worthwhile.

• Addition of a feedback channel for interactive features.

• For the next five years: on-demand viewing will grow to a share of 20% of viewing hours by 2012

• The shift to IPTV means that mobile network operators, broadband internet service providers and major internet portals are moving into the platform business (platforms basically aggregate channels and transmit them to the end-user).

Shift to Digital in the Audio-Visual

Sector



Three Basic Concepts

a) Networked Electronic Media

b) User Generated Content c) Web 2.0

Selected Main Findingsa) Micropayment Systems for

Creatorsb) Forensic DRM and Copyright

c) Personalization and Privacyd) Exploitation through Web 2.0e) The Future – The Semantic Web?

Selected Findings



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Computer-based

networked

electronic media

IT Hardwareand Software

Content

UGCMedia companiespublic sector,public domain

Networked Electronic Media

Telecommunications

Digital Offline Media



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Types of User Generated Content

• Sharing content on P2P networks,

• Uploading e.g. a snippet of a recorded TV programme,

• Producing and uploading videos or photos to share with others

• Giving feedback (broking) by rating, recommending, tagging

• Self expression and networking at Social Networking sites,

• Co-operative, distributed production of content like encyclopaedias

• Creation of characters or “assets” in virtual worlds and online

games

• Data traces produced by users and analysed by companies.



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Impressive figures underscoring success

• In April 2008 the blog search service technorati had indexed more than 112 million blogs with a daily increase of 70,000.

• In April 2008 Wikipedia consisted of over 10 million articles in 253 languages. The English edition had more than 2.3 million articles

• MySpace the largest social network site worldwide has more than 180 million members and a daily increase of more than 200,000

• In January 2008 alone, nearly 79 million users watched over 3 billion videos on YouTube

• Fotosharing site Flickr claims more than 7 million registered users• iTunes currently offers 5 million pieces of music, 550 TV series, and 500

films and claims to have sold more than 3 billion songs, 50 million episodes from TV series, and 2 million movies

• At the beginning of 2008, World of Warcraft had surpassed 10 million subscribers worldwide, with more than 2 million subscribers in Europe,

• Second Life has more than 11 million user accounts; up to 60,000 persons online simultaneously;

• Probably more than 50% of Internet traffic stems from P2P services like BitTorrent, eMule, eDonkey.



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Web 2.0 Environment

1. Low cost tools, low entry barriers

2. Technical advances in client-server communication

3. Desktop/Browser as powerful media content control centre.

4. The Web 2.0 and the net is the computer

5. Web 2.0 and new forms of co-operation (e.g. “virtual communities”, distributed or “collective intelligence”)



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Web 2.0 EnvironmentTwo (out of six) key topics around which the discussion of

changing media business revolves:

- The "long tail„: how niche markets can be profitable on the Internet (different means to facilitate the discovery of niche content: through search engines, through rating, tagging or recommending on commercial sites, or by establishing platforms which aggregate niche content)

- Glocal webbing as business opportunity supporting cultural and regional diversity: enhanced availability of highly localised content and services. But of course on the Internet it is presented simultaneously to local and global audiences.



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Web 2.0 Environment

1. Manipulation

2. Concentration of economic power

3. Addiction

4. Spam

5. Cybercrime

6. Limited Business Models

7. DRM and Copyright

8. Privacy



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The micropayment issue

No need… • “The early Internet dream

of nearly frictionless purchases of sub USD 0.75 content has been made irrelevant by free content and the ad-supported revenue growth that powers the best free content sites as well as the growth of search giant Google”

Mercator Advisory Group 2007

A definite need…• “There is no international

payment infrastructure for smaller payments. In this field, national borders still matter in Europe, and thus the demand for something like a unified European payment infrastructure for small payments remains. The European content market would gain from this type of infrastructure as well as from the adoption of standards for micro-payments.”

ISTAG 2007



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No need… • Free content, indirect

revenue streams• Micro advertising • Low processing costs• Subscription models

A definite need…• Current situation not

satisfactory for creators• No appropriate share of

revenues• Ubiquitous small value

payments as part of the infrastructure allowing direct payments between consumers and creators



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Questions… • Is there any lobby for a micropayment

infrastructure?• Who should pay for the infrastructure of

“electronic cash”?• Would consumers accept paying tiny

amounts to creators?



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Forensic DRM for Web 2.0

• Forensic DRM is different from direct Technical Protection Measures.

• It aims to limit the distribution of unauthorized copies, but does not restrict their use

• Forensic DRM comprises technologies which help to identify, check, track, and trace digital copies

• Technologies are mainly fingerprinting and watermarking

• In the Web 2.0 environment there are two major application fields: – Tracing TPM-free paid content, – Filtering content on UGC-Platforms



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Forensic DRM for Web 2.0 Pro• Does not hinder the

use of content• Supports DRM-free

business models• Avoids copyright

infringement at UGC-sites

Cons• Easy to be

circumvented• Can’t cope with

rearranged content • Is at odds with privacy



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Forensic DRM for Web 2.0 Questions:• Are online intermediaries – in this case UGC-

Platform providers – to be treated as publishers, and thus liable for content on their servers?

• Given that UGC-Platform providers are interested in good relationships with major content providers, isn’t there sufficient self interest to take measures to avoid copyright infringements?

• Can forensic DRM measures be implemented efficiently without risking privacy?



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Personalization vs. privacy

• Activities on the Web can be observed, monitored, measured and analysed automatically.

• Web mining technologies will bring about better knowledge about user needs.

• Advances in semantic technologies will increase the exploitation and processing of content from numerous resources. Benefit: Capturing the information flowing across Web 2.0 and mining it, may support– personalized advertising, – personalisation of content on UGC platforms– personalisation of search results



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Personalization vs. privacyConcerns

1. The increased ability to collect and relate information about persons, their behaviour and their preferences bears privacy risks.

2. The more the Internet turns into a system where computers communicate efficiently behind the backs of people, the more the personal control over ones own data and content might get lost.

Questions• How can personalization benefits and privacy risks be

balanced?• How can privacy risks be avoided in semantic technologies?• Should web mining be regulated?• How can privacy awareness be raised?



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Exploitation through the Web 2.0?

• In Web 2.0 users produce content, content generates traffic, traffic attracts advertising

• Users have their networks, produce content and leave data traces – all attractive to other players

• Activities on the Web can be observed, monitored, measured and analysed automatically.

• Web mining technologies will produce better knowledge about user needs.

• Advances in semantic technologies will increase the exploitation and processing of content from numerous resources.



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Exploitation through the Web 2.0?

Benefits: Information and data generated by the user can support- personalized advertising, - personalisation of content on UGC platforms- personalisation of search results

Dangers: Need to attract advertising revenues has impact on content- articles with direct link to advertising favoured- unattractive subjects neglected due to lack of

advertising appeal- danger of long-term decrease in demand for

professional writers



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Impact of the Web 2.0 on the “Creative Class”

Many European cities and regions are defining themselves as “creative hubs”

• New technology can support creativity, improve diffusion and enable discovery of creative talent

• Time, space and environment no longer play important roles, so importance of location might be diminishing

Question: How are these contradictions to be resolved (research issue)



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The Future? The Semantic Web

• Semantic web technologies are already finding use in parts of the media industries

• Semantic technologies might reinforce the trend towards automatic production of secondary media

• Applications include automatic customisation of content, generation of new content from that in existence

• “Internet of Services” as guiding vision. “Artificial agents” are, however, still far from realisation

• Development of the semantic web is evolutionary process requiring bridges between “syntactic web” and “semantic web”. User involvement crucial for semantic annotation and as corrective to automatic processes



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The Future? The Semantic Web (2)

Before the Semantic Web can take off, there are issues to be resolved:

• IPR and DRM issues• Privacy, data protection• Trust, e.g. trustworthiness of agents• Threats to autonomy of users through

automatic agents etc.



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Thanks to:Michael Rader,

Knud Böhle,Arnd Weber

Institute for Technology Assessment and Systems Analysis

European Technology Assessment Group



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Thank You for Your Attention !

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