*

French Digital Council
Report to the Government

Press Kit

June 2015

#contribuez**

* FRANCE’S DIGITAL GOALS

** #CONTRIBUTE

Sommaire

The public consultation process: a unique instrument for shaping public policy	5

70 RECOMMENDATIONS FOR FRANCE’S DIGITAL GOALS	11

Fairness and freedom in a common digital environment	13

A new form of public action: openness, innovation, participation	17

Fostering French growth for an innovation-driven economy	21

Solidarity, fairness, empowerment: the challenges of a digital society	25

About the French Digital Council	30

Thanks...	35

Appendices (in French)	36

The public consultation process:
a unique instrument for shaping public policy

The digital consultation process marshalled a wide range of stakeholders and included french local authorities

The French Digital Council headed up a five month public consultation process (from October 2014 to February 2015) on France’s Digital Goals. The purpose of this initiative was to gather recommendations and ideas on how France should design digital policies that have a positive impact on our economy and our society. Prime Minister Manuel Valls entrusted the French Digital Council with this challenging assignment, which was closely monitored by Axelle Lemaire, Minister of State for Digital Affairs and Thierry Mandon, Minister of State for State Reform and Administrative Streamlining. The initiative was unique for several reasons:

A wide variety of subjects were covered: the French Digital Council chose to base the public consultation on four major topics;

A public and transparent debate, open to everyone. This debate was bolstered by a website and the organisation of special meetings throughout France.

The www.contribuez.cnnumerique.fr website was developed together with the French non-profit organisation Démocratie Ouverte. On the website, citizens and public or private organisations were able to contribute to the consultations available. The debate phase was followed by a summary of every consultation, drafted by the French Digital Council. These reports were neutral, open to comments, and set out the issues raised and the suggested courses of action.

During the public consultation process, the French Digital Council organised four “contributory meetings” in French cities which are at the forefront of digital initiatives and which belong to the French Tech network: Lille, Strasbourg, Bordeaux, and Nantes. The purpose of these meetings and workshops was to further examine the topics that were discussed online for each consultation. They allowed local stakeholders and citizens to share feedback and ideas. Entrepreneurs, students, lawyers, and non-profit organisations were also able to table ideas and initiatives to “upgrade” France.

A networked consultation, rallying multiple players. To stimulate collective intelligence, the French Digital Council created a “DIY”1 https://contribuez.cnnumerique.fr/proposer-un-atelier-relais kit with Nod-A, a makestorming startup. With this kit, everyone (startups, businesses, non-profit organisations, citizens, etc.) can organise their own workshop on any consultation posted on the website. The Council helped stakeholders to use the kit and provided support on the subjects they wanted to address, and then organised the collection of ideas on the website.

Regular work meetings with the government: weekly meetings were organised between the French Digital Council and members of the Private Offices of the Prime Minister, Axelle Lemaire and Thierry Mandon. These sessions were essential for coordination between the public consultation process and governmental projects (digital bill, action plans at EU and international levels). Inter-ministerial meetings were held in parallel to disseminate the consultation process results throughout government departments.

Retrouvez toutes les ressources ouvertes de la concertation > The #AmbitionNumérique timeline details every step and event during the consultation processes- appendices [pages 39 to 44] and link: http://timeline.contribuez.cnnumerique.fr > You can also download the public consultation interim reports (from each debate on the website), read workshop results, and watch speeches and pitches from our contributory meetings: http://data.contribuez.cnnumerique.fr > List of contributors: http://contribuez.cnnumerique.fr/participants > If you want to organise your own meeting or workshop, download the “DIY” kit: http://contribuez.cnnumerique.fr/proposer-un-atelier-relais > Consultation press kit: http://contribuez.cnnumerique.fr/parlez-en-autour-de-vous

FROM A PUBLIC CONSULTATION PROCESS TO A REPORT CONTAINING
70 RECOMMENDATIONS

The end of the public consultation process heralded the start of a new stage. Council members and the General Secretary’s team started drafting the recommendations that would form the #AmbitionNumérique report. Council members factored in the consultations’ results and took some contributions into account while setting out specific views and recommendations.

Four working groups were set up based on the consultations’ four topics. Benoît Thieulin, President of the French Digital Council, Yann Bonnet, General Rapporteur and Somalina Pa, Deputy General Rapporteur, were responsible for coordinating the project.

GROWTH, INNOVATION, DISRUPTION	FAIRNESS IN A DIGITAL ENVIRONMENT
Coordination: Marie Ekeland & Stéphane Distinguin, French Digital Council members. Working group: Nathalie Andrieux, Nathalie Bloch-Pujo, Pascal Daloz, Laurence Le Ny, Brigitte Vallée, French Digital Council members. Secretary General: Mathilde Bras, Rapporteur; Alex Gadré, Project officer (intern); Hugo Meunier, Project officer (intern).	Coordination: Valérie Peugeot, Vice-President of the French Digital Council. Working group: Christine Balagué and Godefroy Beauvallet, Vice-Presidents; Tristan Nitot, Virginie Fauvel, Virginia Cruz, Lara Rouyrès and Francis Jutand, French Digital Council members. Secretary General: Charly Berthet, Rapporteur; Judith Herzog, Rapporteur; Camille François.
THE DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION OF PUBLIC ACTION	SOCIETY AND DIGITAL METAMORPHOSIS
Coordination: Marc Tessier, French Digital Council member. Working group: Michel Briand, Virginia Cruz, Cyril Garcia, Laurence Le Ny, Sophie Pène, French Digital Council members and Valérie Peugeot, Vice-President of the French Digital Council. Secretary General: Camille Hartmann, Rapporteur; François Levin, Project officer (intern); Mike Fedida, Project officer (intern).	Coordination: Daniel Kaplan, French Digital Council member. Working group: Serge Abiteboul, Michel Briand, Nathalie Bloch-Pujo, Virgnie Fauvel, Sophie Pène, French Digital Council members. Christine Balagué & Valérie Peugeot, Vice-Presidents. Secretary General: Somalina Pa, Deputy General Rapporteur; Léa Douhard, Rapporteur; Jan Krewer, Project officer (intern).

The report took two months to draft. Council members identified priority subjects and built a specific vision in order to issue relevant recommendations. They worked closely with government departments to analyse, outline and assess some of these recommendations. The final report was adopted on 3 April 2015 at the Council’s monthly plenary session.

THE OUTCOME

The “Ambition numérique” report is a significant contribution to France’s digital strategy at national, European and international levels.

The Council will be involved in future discussions and arbitration on the digital bill and several strategic action plans introduced by the government. Where applicable, the Council will give its opinion on certain measures, help specify provisions and take part in public debates on France’s digital strategy.

The Council will also present a large number of recommendations at EU level, as several regulations related to digital matters are being revised (data protection, telecoms market, copyright). The new Commission’s projects, such as the Digital Single Market, Capital Markets Union, and the Juncker Investment Plan could also be enhanced by the Council’s recommendations. See “Recommendations for the European Union’s digital strategy” (p 23)

70 RECOMMENDATIONS FOR FRANCE’S DIGITAL GOALS

“We need to set digital goals and give meaning to the digital disruptions with values and direction. The digital society does not move forward alone but through individual and collective choices” Excerpt from the report’s vision statement.

A SET OF PRINCIPLES

The Council’s recommendations are based on a set of principles outlining objectives for our digital society:

The rollout of digital technologies must serve a united society. We must reaffirm the values of our social model and improve social inclusion. Digital mediation is a prerequisite for the appropriation of digital tools and uses

Digital empowerment cannot be assessed nor established by decree. It must be built through individual (sharing, creation of new knowledge) and collective processes (co-construction, commons, etc.)

Digital technologies provide the opportunity to move towards an “open society” thanks to the promotion of open and sustainable innovation models, and the review of organisational models to make them flatter. They pave the way for greater participation by employees, civil servants, clients, consumers, users and citizens

We must uphold the rule of law and protect basic individual rights. Ordinary law must provide specific guarantees in the digital environment and foster trust, checks and balances, proportionate and democratic measures

70 RECOMMENDATIONS set out in 4 parts:

Fairness and freedom in a common digital environment (pages 13-14)

A new form of public action: openness, innovation, participation (pages 17-19)

Fostering French growth for an innovation-driven economy (pages 21-23)

Solidarity, fairness, empowerment: the challenges of a digital society (pages 25-28)

Fairness and freedom in a common digital environment

The development of digital content and services has been made possible thanks to the existence of an open and contributory Internet. In this environment, everyone - individuals, loose collectives, public stakeholders, organisations, businesses, etc. – are able to collect resources on the one hand, and to suggest, share, disseminate innovations and creations on the other hand. This makes the digital environment a positive-sum game. Today, what the Web promised 20 years ago is being undermined by growing power imbalances between established economic players and disruptive organisations, between minor services and major websites, between the giants of the Web and their users, between public stakeholders and citizens...

Build and protect the digital society’s balance - This part issues recommendations to reconcile the development of the Internet with the protection of freedoms, fairness and innovation:

The Internet is a common good: to make the Internet benefit the whole of society and represent a sustainable common good, a holistic regulatory approach has to be taken, combining rules such as net neutrality, a more democratic Internet governance system, and stable and fair international taxation measures.

Informational self-determination must be recognised as a fundamental right: private data protection is not sufficient to allow individuals to leverage their data’s use value and to exercise real control over it.

Platform fairness: dominant digital platforms must adopt “fair” behaviour vis-à-vis their customers and users, whether individuals or businesses. This involves broad obligations as regards transparency, information, and non-discrimination.

Reassert the rule of law: the rule of law cannot be upheld when governments introduce a large number of exception systems. The balance between legal certainty and public freedoms can only be guaranteed by the legal system. We must give judges the means to address digital matters and reinforce training.

“New business models tend to draw on an increasing amount of data. This phenomenon raises several issues. Businesses must be encouraged to diversify their business models and individuals, who co-produce this data, should once again be able to use and control it”. Valérie Peugeot, Vice-President of the French Digital Council, coordinator of the “fairness” working group. Watch the video: http://urlz.fr/1Tjf	FOCUS - mesinfos mesinfos.fing.org is an experimental data mapping project. The goal is to assess to what extent it is possible to “return” private data to the individuals that co-produced it. The project identifies data uses, technical specifications for project leaders, and lists legal and economic requirements. A large ecosystem of stakeholders is involved to scale up this new model.

Council recommendations

THE INTERNET IS A COMMON GOOD 1. Assert the principle of net neutrality Write the principle of network neutrality into international and national law Frame and restrict the use of specialised services Monitor the application of net neutrality rules through the use of suitable resources 2. Preserve and strengthen the parts of the radio spectrum allocated to common uses Bolster and extend the parts of the radio spectrum allocated to common uses Fuel the development of mesh networks 3. Renewed involvement in Internet Governance to better protect fundamental freedoms Nationally, roll out initiatives to stimulate discussions with civil society, academia, the technical community and economic stakeholders Co-develop a comprehensive and consistent French strategy on Internet Governance Commit to more inclusive and democratic processes within the various Internet Governance bodies Speed up work on introducing a level playing field for taxation in a digital economy THE FUNDAMENTAL RIGHT TO INFORMATIONAL SELF-DETERMINATION 4. Foster individual control over the use of personal data Create an effective right to data portability Support the development of a critical mass of services allowing individuals to control the use of their personal data Extend the right to access the secondary data market Discharge search engines from laying down delisting criteria an open network of contributors and a body of algorithm experts, who can be called upon by regulatory authorities Use reverse engineering Greater capacities and resources for the CNIL (French Data Protection Authority) REASSERT THE RULE OF LAW 11. Illegal content: consolidate the judge’s role in site blocking Use site blocking only as a last resort Always refer cases to the judicial authority before taking any site-blocking measures Adapt law enforcement to provide an effective judicial response in the digital era 12. Redefine balances and roles of platforms in the removal of illegal content Bolster reporting mechanisms on platforms Introduce the “audi alteram partem” principle into content removal processes Redefine balances concerning illegal content and General Terms of Use Regulate use of automated content-surveillance tools Give non-profit organisations the capacity to institute proceedings to uphold Internet users’ freedom of speech, outside the remit of regulatory authorities	5. Introduce class actions for personal data protection PLATFORM FAIRNESS 6. Establish the principle of platform fairness Establish a new legal category applicable to platforms: neither publisher nor host Subject platforms to a general principle of fairness 7. Provide the right information at the right time An obligation to formulate clear and understandable General Terms of Use Ensure access to information at the right time 8. Ensure the fairness of algorithms for personalisation, ranking and referencing Introduce a right to transparency and compliance with platform commitments, personalisation, ranking and referencing criteria Obtain guarantees from players against the discriminating use of data for differential pricing Guarantee access to diversity of information 9. Fairness between economic stakeholders: preserve an innovation-friendly space Standardise access to key resources and visibility of essential platforms Build and maintain gateways between major competing ecosystems Implement appropriate principles for the digital economy, drawing on regulations on restrictive trade practices 10. Adapt institutional design Heighten inter-regulation and cooperation between regulatory authorities The effectiveness of fairness and self-determination principles can be achieved by a European fairness ranking agency, supported by 13. The legal framework of security intelligence: ensure effectiveness while respecting fundamental personal and public freedoms 14. Protect whistleblowers 15. Promote data encryption 16. Reform the national fingerprint and genetic imprint repositories 17. Commit to work against the export of surveillance and censorship technologies to authoritarian regimes

SPOTLIGHT - REVIVING RIGHTS AND FREEDOMS

Participative workshop during the 2nd contributory meeting at the European Council (9 January 2015)	“The potential of digital technologies as drivers and catalysts for rights and freedoms must be capitalised on by the entities in charge of our major collective organisations – healthcare, education, justice and social protection.” Excerpt from the “Ambition numérique” report

RECOMMENDATIONS TO REVIVE DIGITAL RIGHTS AND FREEDOMS
In addition to new requirements in terms of fairness, the Council is in favour of the recognition of a fundamental right to informational self-determination to give individuals control over their data vis-à-vis companies (recommendations nos. 4 and 5) and government departments (recommendation no. 24). Individuals should be allowed to have access to their data, to rectify it, to choose its uses and to use it in their daily lives. One particularly tangible expression of these possibilities could be in the healthcare system (recommendation no. 60). In the digital era, a number of rights and freedoms are set to evolve. For instance, the right of access to administrative documents and open data must be better coordinated (recommendation no. 28), and the individual right to training must be transformed into a right to contribute to promoting the emergence of new professional collaborative practices (recommendation no. 35). Digital leverage can be used to revive existing rights: the right of access to legal information (recommendation no. 67), the right of access to the Internet and critical services (recommendation no. 56), and respect for labour rights (recommendation no. 57).

A new form of public action: openness, innovation, participation

Overhauling public action in the digital era - The digital revolution is forcing the public authorities to be more transparent, flexible and effective. It is vital to review how central government and its local departments, authorities and government-funded institutions function and their relations with society’s stakeholders.

More openness, new innovation, greater participation - The Council recommends giving fresh impetus to the government’s digital strategy:

Public authorities must be open to new methods of public policy design and assessment, in line with the logic of “open government”. This can be achieved through more transparent decision-making models and public policy co-construction.

User-friendly digital public services must be developed based on users’ experiences. They must be able to be taken up by everyone and uphold fundamental rights. Digital services must factor in the wide range of uses and must constantly improve online administrative processes. Paperless procedures must involve mediation, regional planning and legal guarantees in terms of private data uses by government departments.

Public players should make public data automatically available, free-of-charge, as this would contribute to transparency, innovation and the effectiveness of public action. This positive external impact will only be achieved if government strategy for data analysis and traffic is strengthened.

In government departments, a new culture of innovation should be fostered, with more flexible in-house processes and organisation, and with the promotion of collaborative methods, experiments and human creativity.

“The development of new digital uses is revolutionising the traditional ways government departments work. Today, these departments need to drive the momentum of change” Marc Tessier, French Digital Council member, coordinator of the working group on public action. Watch the video: http://lc.cx/Z4KX	FOCUS - La TRANSFO, 27e Région Launched in 2011, this experimental project involved several regions in France (PACA, Pays de la Loire, Burgundy, Champagne-Ardennes) to set up cross-disciplinary labs to jointly build user-centred public services.

Council recommendations

18. Give fresh impetus to the digital transformation of public action Consider the expansion of the role and resources of the Secretariat-General for Government Modernisation Foster the setting up of government startups in government departments COMMIT TO MORE OPEN GOVERNMENT 19. Develop joint public policy design Define a methodological framework for online public consultations Encourage coalitions between regional authorities grounded in open government projects Involve citizens in legislative processes 20. Bolster transparency and decision-making traceability Roll out viewing tools for legislation and policy-making processes Show the legislative footprint of the statute book Establish a single and mandatory public register for interest groups, updated continuously on the basis of legislative footprints 21. Develop new modes of public policy assessment Make open publication of assessment data mandatory Open up the processes of drafting public policy impact studies and assessment reports using digital tools Foster collaborative research on open source software for simulating the impact of public policies	INTRODUCE DIGITAL PUBLIC SERVICES ADAPTED TO CITIZENS’ USES, IN AN ENVIRONMENT OF TRUST 22. Improve the design of public services on the basis of end-user experiences Establish Guidelines for digital public services including design principles 23. Develop support for digital public services Promote and enhance the supporting role of civil servants Increase the number of mediation spaces supporting public services Establish objectives with regard to public service accessibility 24. Provide a framework for the use and exchange of personal data held by government departments Provide a framework for the exchange of information within the “France Connect” project Apply the self-determination principle to personal data held by government departments, under certain specific conditions Improve verification of the reuse of personal data by government departments 25. Foster the creation of personal digital spaces to view administrative procedures and store administrative documents Foster the emergence of thematic personal spaces for online public services Encourage the introduction of public or private digital “safes”, based on a “France Connect“ account, and common security rules and design
A NEW, BOLD OPEN DATA STRATEGY 26. Make public data automatically available and, generally, free-of-charge Introduce an obligation to make public data automatically available, while providing technical and qualitative guarantees to foster reuse by third parties Reassert the principle of free-of-charge public data, while authorising consideration assessed on a case-by-case basis 27. Support the development and coordination of open data strategies Develop support systems for public data Provide methodological support to local authorities Extend the open data officer network and provide it with better tools 28. Revise the right to access public information, in the context of open data approaches Initiate a thought process on the remit, intervention methods and resources of the Committee of Access to Administrative Documents (CADA) in the digital era Provide better support to citizens’ applications for access to releasable public information Increase awareness of issues related to access to public information and its reuse amongst administrators in charge of public information access (PRADA) 29. Encourage the sharing of data on economic and civil society players, whilst ensuring that the fundamental rights and the balance of the interests of the stakeholders are upheld Introduce open data clauses into contracts with entities with a public-service mandate Foster the pooling - on a voluntary basis - of certain data collected by private players in the context of public policies or research programmes	Put forward an appropriate legal framework for making this data available at the request of the public authorities INSTIL AN INNOVATION CULTURE IN GOVERNMENT DEPARTMENTS 30. Heighten the digital literacy of civil servants Diversify and expand digital training courses for public employees Adopt a proactive policy to increase the appeal and recognition of digital skills within government departments Strategically invest in digital tools and skills to counter tax evasion and aggressive tax planning 31. Introduce collaborative practices and knowledge sharing Assess collaborative projects and cooperative professional networks within public administrations Launch a platform dedicated to open projects within government departments Encourage collaboration between local authorities on free software projects Set up open labs on an experimental basis 32. Improve control over public procurement Build on data to strengthen public procurement transparency and effectiveness Reorient public procurement towards innovative tools and services Encourage the sharing of best practices by procurement departments

SPOTLIGHT - DIGITAL REGIONS

#OpenGov participative workshop during Public Innovation Week (November 2014)	“Regions are key players in the digital transformation of our economy. Thanks to local open data strategies, transparency, as well as economic and social innovation are improving.” Excerpt from the “Ambition numérique” report
RECOMMENDATIONS FOR IMPROVING LOCAL AUTHORITIES’ DIGITAL STRATEGY #EconomicDevelopment #Innovation - According to the Council, reinforcing the appeal and competitiveness of the regions means promoting the emergence of innovative digital ecosystems. To this end, the Council recommends setting up a national platform, allowing contact between startups and local authorities looking to host innovative businesses (recommendation no. 35). Specific tools should be rolled out to assist local authorities with their open data strategies (recommendation no. 27). #Transparency #Citizenship - The Council is in favour of bolstering processes allowing citizens and civil society to participate in local decisions. Digital tools and uses must be developed to allow local budgets and legislation to be viewed (recommendation no. 20) and to encourage local authorities to work together on common open gov projects (recommendation no. 19). #Inclusion #Solidarity #SocialInnovation - Digital regional planning is a prerequisite for access for all to local public services and vital Internet resources. These policies must be implemented alongside other initiatives, such as support networks (recommendations nos. 42, 54, 55 and 56). Local authorities are entitled to try out new policies and this right must be used to develop “new social interaction” resulting from the sharing economy (recommendation no. 49). #Cooperation #Commons - The Council encourages the development of collaborative practices between local authorities, including open source IT projects and co-sharing digital tools (recommendation no. 31). The Council also recommends digital content pooling between public stakeholders and recognition of public information as a common good (recommendation no. 51).

Fostering French growth for an innovation-driven economy

New economic criteria – To build an open, sustainable and competitive economy, economic players have to factor in three new criteria: rapid growth, international competition and multidimensional innovation. New forms of creation, production, resource-sharing and uses have emerged, allowing “champions” to become international leaders. To be part of this transition, traditional businesses have to take this new environment into account, renew and diversify their skills to become more competitive. Public policies should also promote stronger flexibility in financing models and support for innovative measures, and should encourage the building of innovators’ networks.

Measures for an innovation-driven economy - The Council supports the adoption of a new approach to innovation in public policies and in companies:

Europe should spearhead a common vision of innovation and reform public procurement and innovation-support regulations, to give domestic policies a freer rein.

At national level, it is essential to adapt investment and financing measures for innovators (legal and tax schemes). Government action (public procurement, government holdings, etc.) must also take account of new forms of innovation.

Traditional businesses must generate fresh momentum and increase actions in favour of open and shared innovation. The digital transformation of the economy means that companies have to diversify their skillsets, open up to academia and develop new partnerships with third-party stakeholders.

“Europe is where key decisions will be made in the field of innovation-driven economic regulation. We must adopt a common vision and principles of action as soon as possible”. Marie EKELAND & Stéphane DISTINGUIN, Council members, coordinators of the working group. Watch the video: http://lc.cx/Z4K8	FOCUS - “Innovation Nouvelle Génération Bpifrance (public investment bank) and the FING (Next Generation Internet Foundation) published a yellow paper suggesting a new innovation-based frame of reference. Today innovation does not only mean Research & Development. Product innovation, marketing innovation, business model innovation, social innovation also provide strategic leverage.

Council recommendations:

THE NEED FOR FLEXIBLE INNOVATION 33. Adopt a common definition of innovation in Europe Define a status for European innovative startups to stimulate the emergence of European champions and transnational markets Draft a European “Innovation Act” Prepare, in tandem with the “Innovation Act”, the easing of State aid rules for innovation Coordinate the creation of this status with the industrial priorities of the EU while capitalising on initiatives within Member States 34. Open education to innovation, diversify recruitment and develop collaborative research to foster better interaction between businesses and academia Better training and increased involvement of innovators Overhaul recruitment practices and ongoing training Boost collaboration for research 35. Adapt industrial relations and corporate governance to digital challenges Develop training and consultation in order to allow unions to become digital transformation stakeholders Promote collaborative and open approaches within businesses Develop digital-related national industrial relations 36. Provide a framework for innovation and partnerships between businesses Develop a new innovation reference document for business development policies Improve access to industrial property activities for SMEs and startups	Bolster the mandate of the national business relations ombudsman Extend the innovative SME charter to all businesses 37. Enhance the digital strategy of the government as a contributor to innovation Clearly insert an innovation principle into public procurement law - without waiting for a European reform Ensure that the Government Shareholding Agency (APE) provides active support for the digital transformation of public enterprises Establish innovative investment and public procurement methods Build up civil servants’ digital literacy 38. Tailor legal and tax frameworks to innovators’ needs Bring legal and tax frameworks into line with new forms of innovation Streamline administrative services and make them more accessible for startups Heighten support and training on tax matters 39. Draw up a French industrial strategy for open innovation Assist businesses introducing open innovation strategies Implement a “new generation” policy and convey a French vision of open innovation
REDESIGN THE INNOVATION ECONOMY’S FINANCING STRUCTURE 40. Extend the funding sources of the innovation economy Short term initiatives: use domestic savings for long term investments and promote direct investments Medium term initiatives: marshal banking operators and institutional investors by adapting practices and products Support the development of crowdfunding 41. Roll out a European network for digital and innovation marketplaces Revive long term funding at European level Support the creation of marketplaces leveraging innovation THE URGENT NEED FOR INTERNATIONAL COMPETITIVENESS 42. Strengthen digital ecosystems, on both a regional and sectoral basis Fine tune digital regional planning policies Get support from clusters and the French Tech Buttress the digital transformation of key sectors for regional economic development (agriculture, tourism, crafts, etc.)	43. Organise a European digital ecosystem network Create a European platform for innovation Consolidate links between ecosystems 44. Step up France’s international appeal strategy Promote hosting services for foreign innovators Attract international investments 45. Foster international development for innovative businesses Streamline public assistance for the international expansion of French businesses and support in setting up shop abroad Increase cooperation between French businesses abroad 46. Develop French digital diplomacy Organise France’s digital representation abroad Forge digital partnerships with French-speaking countries

SPOTLIGHT - EUROPE’S DIGITAL STRATEGY: APPEAL FOR RAPID ACTION

“At European level, France must act as a rallying force and ask the right questions” Benoît THIEULIN, President of the French Digital Council First contributory meeting at Euratechnologies (Lille, November 2014) RECOMMENDATIONS FOR EUROPE’S DIGITAL STRATEGY #innovation #financing #digitalagenda - The European Union recently the “Digital Single Market” strategy. The Council considers that this strategy should be bold and adapted to new innovation practices and underscores the need to adopt a common definition of innovation at EU level (recommendation no. 33). The enactment of a European “Innovation Act” would allow Europe to support transnational projects. It could also foster the emergence of international champions. Europe should offer young startups better access to financing, through the creation of Pan-European funds, and to innovation economy marketplaces (recommendations nos. 40 and 41). Investors and financing stakeholders could build financial indexes to help growing companies to be credible and to find exit strategies (stock exchange, M&A, etc.). #regulation #rights #freedoms - The Council reasserts its position in favour of the legal recognition of net neutrality (recommendation no. 1). Net neutrality is essential to build and maintain an open, and therefore innovative and stable Internet. A platform fairness principle must also be adopted at European level (recommendation no. 6) to ensure non-discrimination and transparency for the platforms’ clients, users, whether individuals or businesses. The Council suggests the creation of a European ranking agency tasked with assessing platforms’ practices and fairness. This agency could be supported by an open network of contributors (recommendation no. 10). To ensure the resilience of European legislation, the Council recommends that a wide and adaptable definition of personal data should be decided on and that data marketplaces should be more transparent (recommendation no. 4). Lastly, the Council recommends that a right of data portability be adopted allowing individuals to exercise their right to informational self-determination and businesses to roll out more data-based alternative innovative strategies and business models. #socialinnovation #commons #support - The development of a knowledge-based Europe must be one of the priorities of Europe’s digital roadmap. Commons must be made sustainable and enhanced (recommendations nos. 50 to 54) and networks of MOOCs should be set up based on the ECTS (European Credits Transfer System (recommendation no. 65). This involves taking more account of the positive external impact of projects combining digital technologies and innovation, especially those related to the sharing economy (recommendation no. 49). Leveraging and structuring the support professions should be buttressed and harmonised at EU level (recommendation no. 54).

Solidarity, fairness, empowerment: the challenges
of a digital society

The digital transition will not automatically pave the way for a better society – It can however contribute to building a more equal, fairer, more united and more empowering society provided there is a political will and goal underpinning citizens’ “ability to act” and supporting the emergence of new forms of solidarity, to guarantee the preservation of public spaces, commons and living together. Our objective is grounded in our ability to consider the digital transition as a dual phenomenon, driving innovation, empowerment and creation whilst having a dehumanising effect and widening inequality.

The digital transition is a challenge for our societies, and we must promote values, opportunities, spaces and types that the digital market will not produce by itself:

The digital transition must contribute to empowerment and be a catalyst for individuals’ rights and freedoms. It should be considered a political goal. We need to develop not only people’s power of control, but individual and collective empowerment. We need to promote not only the diffusion of data and information, but the spread of new skills and abilities.

Renew our society with commons to promote collaborative practices and reciprocity. To achieve the promises of the open Internet and the massive dissemination of knowledge, we must enhance and broaden shared informational and cultural spaces. Co-creation is made easier thanks to digital tools and uses, and it must be recognised as a great vehicle for cohesion, inclusion and education.

Use the digital transition to reduce inequality. Access to the Internet for all must become an effective right and infrastructure development must be accelerated as must education and support to achieve digital literacy for all. Otherwise digital technology will not contribute to upward social mobility.

Overhaul our collective systems: between optimisation, reform or disruption. The digital transition is forcing us to rethink our collective systems to reaffirm their essence.

“Several digital transitions can take place at the same time. We have known this for a long time but we are only just starting to draw conclusions. The digital transition is becoming a political issue and is dividing opinions” Daniel Kaplan, Council member, in charge of the working group. Watch the video: http://lc.cx/Z4K2	FOCUS - The “Sharing City” project in Seoul The capital of South Korea launched a vast initiative to promote sharing with the help of digital technologies. The programme includes making unoccupied public buildings available, contact between generations, car-pooling, bartering and local currencies.

Council recommendations:

SHARING ECONOMY 47. Improve our understanding of activities and statuses with potential in terms of economic, social and environmental value, including those outside traditional market-oriented schemes Define a typology of sharing economy stakeholders and models Quantify the sharing economy and determine the number of companies, non-profit organisations and individuals involved in it on the basis of the previously-defined typologies Identify the impact of the sharing economy on the wider economy, society and the environment 48. Encourage the sharing economy while regulating it Where possible, favour the application or development of ordinary law Make intermediation platforms more accountable Recognise the rights and responsibilities of the sharing economy’s workers 49. Promote visibility and support sharing and cooperation initiatives, as they are drivers of social cohesion and innovation Think up and include the social sharing economy in local public policies Adapt the promotion methods of socially responsible public procurement to the positive external impact created by the sharing economy INCLUSION IN A DIGITAL SOCIETY 54. Promote and organise digital support professions Recognise and perpetuate digital support professions and protect their diversity and expansion throughout the country Link places and initiatives that promote support Bolster the business models of Digital Public Spaces (“Espaces Publics Numériques” or EPN) and support spaces 55. Expand digital support in local public services Make digital support in public services more widespread Involve users and citizens in the co-design of public services to improve them and to provide participation-based training Foster the creation of regional innovation networks in local services 56. Make equal access to the Internet and to critical online resources an effective right Initiate transparent and proactive policies to ensure high-speed broadband coverage throughout France Develop a bold action plan to ensure access to online services for all Ensure that vital equipment and services are accessible for all SOLIDARITY AND SOCIAL SYSTEMS 57. Use digital tools for easier access and to ease access and recourse to social rights Adopt a proactive approach to social rights Streamline digital access to rights and improve accessibility 58. Develop (and open up to discussion) preventive and predictive capacities that respect people’s privacy Start a discussion on the ethics of predictive and preventive digital uses of data, as well as on the use of big data for social and health purposes	DIGITAL COMMONS 50. Encourage the development of commons in society Encourage the involvement of public players in producing common digital and non-digital strategies Better understand and promote open licences Publically support non-profit organisations that contribute to the commons Guarantee freedom of panorama (FOP) 51. Determine a clear sharing policy for content produced by local authorities and public stakeholders Acknowledge public information as a common good Ensure that public-financed studies and contents are public, shared and reusable 52. Adopt a positive definition of the public domain and promote its enlargement Adopt a positive definition of public domain in the French Intellectual Property Code Include cultural data (produced by public cultural institutions) under the general open data regime Roll out and develop tools to determine the status of a work or any other creation 53. Make open publication a legal obligation for publicly-financed research Ensure open access to content published and archived in an institutional (public) platform Ensure open access to publicly-financed scientific publications after a short time lag 59. Investigate new methods for generating solidarity and for identifying and involving new stakeholders Give recipients real action and decision-making powers concerning their welfare benefits, favour retroactive dialogue and control instead of upstream control processes Consider non-profit organisations and, when relevant, businesses, as social system stakeholders in their own right, instead of seeing them as peripheral and incidental players Reconsider, recognise and support the role of non-professional “assistants”, including when they belong to the recipient’s family Foster diverse types of assistance and innovation (whether social or not) in welfare benefits DIGITAL HEALTHCARE 60. Recognise and build the right to self-determination in healthcare Make medical data available for patients in a secure context, through a “Blue Button” type tool When developing this tool, introduce protective measures for citizens such as technical guarantees (eg: interoperability), access and data processing by third-parties (eg: labels to authorise access) Adopt a service design approach to optimise the “tool-user-process” cycle 61. On a case-by-case basis, encourage health data holders to share it while taking account of competitiveness issues (see recommendation no. 29) 62. Use digital tools to give citizens a better understanding of the public health challenges and a leading role in healthcare problem-solving Introduce a continual improvement loop for public health policies which are central to healthcare democracy When health projects have a direct impact on citizens, launch calls for collective action, especially when drug-monitoring, epidemiology and health crisis management are concerned
63. Train health professionals in digital health uses and challenges Draw up a digital literacy reference document for initial and ongoing training for health professions including IT management, digital uses for healthcare and wellbeing, mediation Diversify educational materials for health professionals: MOOCs, mock-ups, etc. EDUCATION AND TRAINING 64. Develop and clarify the educational-use exception to match education with digital uses Give teachers the means to understand, apply, and respect the educational-use exception with streamlined, understandable, transparent and homogeneous criteria Make the educational-use exception more flexible and sustainable 65. Anticipate changes in official certification for educators Encourage training institutions to publish online content At EU level, create an online social and certification platform for trainees, based on the ECTS system Improve the flexibility of lifelong training and certification programmes to promote unusual career paths and changes in profession 66. Shift from an infrastructure approach to an environmental vision Amend Article L.515.5 of the French Education Code which forbids use of mobile phones in classrooms Make Internet connections available for all Look for new solutions in terms of local IT maintenance services Ensure the mobility and modularity of educational spaces Guarantee the use of open and interoperable standards for media, software and content	DIGITAL JUSTICE 67. Improve access to legal information using digital technologies (especially for people on trial) Standardise online publication of legal information, raise its profile and design navigation Guarantee that official legal information is understandable and consistent Offer incentives to bodies providing a free legal consultation service to also supply their offering online Encourage bars to organise and offer online legal consultation services 68. Computerise the legal system’s day-to-day operations Organise the secure and paperless exchange of documents and exhibits between lawyers, courts, other legal stakeholders and people on trial 69. Encourage alternative dispute settlement Develop mediation DIGITAL ETHICS 70. Consider the role of ethics in the digital society

Spotlight: opening up resources and organisations

#State #opengov #opendata Making public data available is a prerequisite for any open government initiative (recommendations nos. 26 to 29). The essential principles are open by default, free-of-charge and anonymity. Several actions can help open data initiatives, such as mediation and the appointment of regional open data officers. In order to ensure openness and transparency in public decision-making, a consultation platform should be made accessible (recommendation no. 19). Opening up public policy assessment to citizens means publishing open assessment data (recommendation no. 21) and showing the legislative footprint (recommendation no. 20). #businesses #openinnovation The development of shared innovation initiatives in private businesses must be supported and promoted. The Council suggests that a contribution entitlement should be associated with the personal training account to allow any employee to take part in open projects (recommendation no. 35). Balanced and cooperative interaction between businesses and researchers should be leveraged. Mediation between businesses should take into account new means of production and innovation, and mediation rules should factor in intellectual property issues (recommendation no. 36). The promotion of open innovation and its benefits could be part of a more global industrial strategy. For instance, France could promote patent pool models in negotiations on technology standard setting (recommendation no. 39). #society #commons Online, open and shared informational resources offer great potential for the dissemination of information and knowledge in today’s digital society. This potential must be recognised and realised with an eye to social wellbeing for all. The Council suggests that a public policy should be designed to organise content-pooling between local authorities and public players (recommendation no. 51). There should be a positive definition of public domain (recommendation no. 52) and publications from publicly financed research should be automatically published in open access (recommendation no. 53). Finally, commons must be recognised as cohesive, inclusive and educational tools because they foster open production. The Council recommends encouraging the development of commons in society (recommendation no. 50). This can be achieved through the participation of public stakeholders in the producing digital and non-digital commons and through the promotion of open licences.

About the French Digital Council

THE COUNCIL’S MANDATE

The French Digital Council is an independent advisory commission. Its remit was redefined and expanded by presidential decree on 13 December 2012, following its presentation on 12 December at a Cabinet Meeting by Fleur Pellerin, Minister Delegate with responsibility for SMEs, Innovation and the Digital Economy. The Council’s members were appointed on 17 January 2013 by presidential decree. The Council was set up in April 2011.

The Council issues independent opinions and recommendations on any question relating to the impact of digital technologies on the economy and society. The government can consult the Council on new legislation or draft regulations.

The Council’s thirty members come from across the digital spectrum, and include researchers and activists. The Council organises public consultations at both local and national level, and is in constant contact with France’s digital ecosystem, including elected officials, members of civil society, researchers, digital experts, entrepreneurs and professional organisations.

The Council is chaired by Benoît Thieulin, French social media entrepreneur.

THE COUNCIL’S WORK

The Council’s publications and works are available at: http://www.cnnumerique.fr. Most of the Council’s reports and opinions are available in English and, for certain, there are German, Italian, Spanish, Swedish versions.

REPORTS AND OPINIONS
The public consultation website http://contribuez.cnnumerique.fr Press release on the information bill (March 2015) http://www.cnnumerique.fr/renseignement/ Jules Ferry 3.0 report: building a fair and creative school system in a digital world (October 2014) http://www.cnnumerique.fr/education Opinion on the French bill on scaling up counter-terrorism provisions (July 2014) http://www.cnnumerique.fr/en/terrorism/ Report of platform neutrality: Building an open and sustainable digital environment (June 2014) http://www.cnnumerique.fr/en/platform-neutrality-building-an-open-and-sustainable-digital-environment/ Opinion on the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (May 2014) http://www.cnnumerique.fr/en/ttip/ Opinion on Digital Freedoms (December 2013) http://www.cnnumerique.fr/en/opinion-on-digital-freedoms/ Opinion on content regulation (hate speech - December 2013) http://www.cnnumerique.fr/contenus-illicites/ Opinion on the bill reinforcing the fight against prostitution systems (November 2013) http://www.cnnumerique.fr/avis-prostitution/ Opinion on digital inclusion and report entitled “Citizens of a digital society – Access, Literacy, Mediation, Empowerment: towards a new policy of inclusion” (November 2013) http://www.cnnumerique.fr/en/opinion-on-digital-inclusion/ Report on Digital Taxation (September 2013) http://www.cnnumerique.fr/fiscalite/ Opinion on IT education (June 2013) http://www.cnnumerique.fr/enseignementinformatique/ Opinion on Net Neutrality (March 2013) http://www.cnnumerique.fr/en/net-neutrality/
WORK IN PROGRESS
Digital Health http://www.cnnumerique.fr/sante/ Work & Employment http://www.cnnumerique.fr/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/saisine-travail.pdf

Thanks...

To all contributors - citizens, businesses, government departments, federations and trade unions, non-profit organisations, students, researchers, etc. - for involvement and participation in the public consultation.

To our strategic partners - government departments, institutions, event hosts and organisers, pitchers, workshop curators, etc.

To Démocratie ouverte, Nod-A, Glowbl and Adesias for technical and methodological support.

Appendices (in French)

ASSIGNMENT LETTER FROM THE PRIME MINISTER

CONSULTATION TIMELINE

La lettre de saisine du Premier Ministre

La timeline de la concertation

Press

Yann Bonnet - General Secretary

presse@cnnumerique.fr - +331 53 44 21 27

Conseil national du numérique, Bâtiment Atrium, 5 Place des Vins de France, 75573 Paris Cedex 12

www.cnnumerique.fr

http://contribuez.cnnumerique.fr/