Posted by Jorge Zukoski on Jul 12, 2010 in ICT Sector, News & Updates, President's Opinion | 17 comments
Doing business has changed dramatically over the years as the new age of rapidly developing hi-tech Information Societies across the globe has reshaped the landscape providing a wide range of benefits and new opportunities through access to information, expanded job opportunities and better overall quality of life. At the same time this new Information Society has created interesting challenges regarding information safety and protection of intellectual property rights. Advanced economies in this new era are aware of the necessity to aggressively protect information and intellectual property to ensure the integrity and expansion of this vital part of their economies and to preserve their competitive advantage.
Despite the potential to become an advanced technological country and develop this rapidly expanding global market that in many cases effortlessly reaches across national boundaries, Ukraine is lagging behind. As an example, among countries in the region it still tops the list for violations of intellectual property rights. The Government of Ukraine has been working on addressing this problem and on following through on promises to end piracy of software as well as entertainment products.
The American Chamber of Commerce’s Information Technologies, Telecom and Intellectual Property Rights Committees are strongly committed to assisting the Ukrainian political and professional elites implement international best practices within the newly emerging Information Society that are adapted to Ukrainian reality and allow for the further development of this potentially important value-added segmented of the economy that will help Ukraine to diversify away from the reliance on export related industries to drive GDP and growth in the future.
Despite some progress and the adoption of several important legislative acts including: “On Protection of Personal Data,” “On the Introduction of a National Program of Electronic Documents Using Digital Signatures,” the state program for the introduction of digital television, and the Convention on Cybercrime ratified by the Ukrainian Parliament, Ukraine is still failing to fulfill its full potential.
On June 1st, 2010 the Parliament finally adopted the Law “On Protection of Personal Data,” which establishes regulations for personal data issues. The business community and experts generally welcome this legislation, but the rapid development of personal data operations require more straightforward and clear definitions that correspond to international norms. Given that the Law will be a base for regulating personal data issues, certain gaps and discrepancies need to be eliminated. The definition of personal data, for example, must be more concrete in order to avoid ambiguity. Moreover, the Law contains a number of terms that existing Ukrainian legislation does not define. The authorities could therefore interpret these definitions at their own discretion, which could lead to inconsistent application of the law and an increase in corruption.
The Chamber’s Intellectual Property Committee strongly supports the implementation of this piece of legislation, which is necessary if Ukraine is to evolve into a more reliable partner in the global Information Society. The Committee will continue working to amend the current wording of the Data Protection Law in order to minimize gaps, contradictions, and other weaknesses.
The business community continues to energetically advocate for a consistent and predictable regulatory environment that corresponds to international best practices in this area. Advanced countries have officially established national strategies for building their Information Societies and we strongly believe that the new Ukrainian political leadership should not just adopt the necessary legislation, but closely oversee and manage implementation. Enforcing the existing regulations is a priority for Ukraine’s Information and Communications Technologies (ICT) sector. When it fulfils it potential, that sector will provide a systematic framework for Ukraine’s socio-economic transformation, creating a competitive economy and fostering Ukraine’s European integration.
Beyond its economic and social value, ICT can strengthen national information security, enrich Ukraine’s information environment, and combat information warfare that other countries could potentially launch. Ukraine’s future depends on its ability to formulate and implement good public information policy, but this is impossible given how it lags behind other countries in the technology and regulation areas.
The Chamber remains confident that the joint efforts of the business community, the government, and other interested stakeholders will help advance the national ICT sector. That sector will in turn improve Ukraine’s overall competitiveness.