…and by randomly, I mean without a legal process. You may remember that the European Parliament (most notably French socialist Guy Bono) has asked individual countries of the European Union to “avoid adopting measures conflicting with civil liberties and human rights … such as the interruption of internet access.” This was a reaction to the proposal of a three-strikes law, under which the ISPs could send two warnings to file sharers and completely ban them from the internet on third “offense.”

Now, the European Parliament has made it official, adopting an amendment, drafted by Guy Bono and others, which says that “no restriction may be imposed on the rights and freedoms of end-users, notably in accordance with Article 11 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union on freedom of expression and information, without a prior ruling by the judicial authorities, except where dictated by force majeure or by the requirements of preserving network integrity and security, and subject to national provisions of criminal law imposed for reasons of public policy, public security or public morality.”

In other words, you cannot ban someone from the internet unless you have a damn good reason - and file sharing is not a good enough reason.

What’s important about this amendment is that now the European Parliament is not just giving out directives against the three-strikes law (the stupidity of which we’ve written about before) - they’re actively forbidding any action to that effect, and hopefully the member states of the EU will comply.

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by Arielle Verley

HANOVER, Germany (AFP) - European Information and Media Commissioner Viviane Reding said on Thursday she expected a deal on trimming the high cost of using mobile phones abroad by the end of June. "I am very confident that we can obtain an ambitious agreement so that in early June the (European) Council can take a decision and the Parliament in May so that both institutions could reach an agreement before summer," she said. "Every effort should be made to successfully conclude the legislative process on the reduction of roaming tariffs by the end of the first half of 2007."

Reding was speaking to reporters on the sidelines of the world’s biggest high-tech fair, the CeBIT, ahead of an informal meeting here of EU telecoms ministers on a number of topics including so-called "roaming" charges. The gathering will be the last before a formal ministers’ meeting in Brussels June 6 and 7. The European Parliament will vote in May on the issue, amid serious strain between telecommunications firms and the European Commission. The Commission put forward proposals in July for bringing down roaming rates, which remain far higher than call made domestically in the EU.

Frustrated that operators had paid little heed to calls for lower roaming fees, the Commission suggested fixing the wholesale roaming rates that mobile phone companies charge each other. With evidence that prices for roaming calls can run up to six times those of local mobile phone calls, it also proposed to cap the retail rates that companies can impose, as well as the cost of calls received abroad. European deputies have until March 9 to put forward amendments to the existing bill. Economy Minister Michael Glos of Germany, which holds the six-month rotating presidency of the EU, on Wednesday renewed his call for Europe-wide regulation on roaming fees, saying the current cost of using a cell phone abroad is "much too high." "Europe-wide regulation that will cut costs for citizens on a lasting basis is urgently needed," Glos said in a statement released ahead of the opening of the CeBIT.

"The aim of the regulation will be to safeguard customers against excessive roaming fees," he said. "At the informal meeting on Thursday, I will do everything I can so that we draw up and agree on a common position." Thursday’s meeting was aimed at "advancing debate for further discussion," Glos said, adding that key details, such as price levels and regulation, had yet to be worked out. Germany has set the target of getting a deal under its EU presidency, running until the end of June, so holidaymakers can enjoy cheaper rates while abroad next summer.

BERLIN (Reuters) - European Union consumer chief Meglena Kuneva has hit out at Apple Inc.’s bundling of its popular iPod music players and its iTunes online music store, according to German weekly magazine Focus. "Do you think it’s fine that a CD plays in all CD players but that an iTunes song only plays in an iPod? I don’t. Something has to change," EU Consumer Protection Commissioner Kuneva was quoted as saying in a preview of an interview to be published on Monday.

Apple could not be immediately reached for comment on the report. Norway, a European country that is not in the EU, is battling Apple for the same reason. In January, it said the computer and software giant must liberalize its music download system by October 1 or face legal action. Pressure on Apple has been building, with consumer rights organizations from Germany, France, Finland and Norway recently agreeing a joint position in their battles against iTunes.

They argue that Apple uses digital rights technology to limit consumers’ free use of songs bought on iTunes, including the ability to copy and transfer songs to other users and other MP3 devices besides the Apple iPod. Both at the national and EU levels, however, the issue has been looked at by consumer agencies rather than the competition watchdogs whose role it is to decide whether a business activity violates rules on fair competition.

A Commission spokeswoman in Brussels confirmed Kuneva’s comment reported by the magazine but said it represented the commissioner’s personal views, not those of the Commission. "I don’t think she was stating it as a definitive policy position. At this stage it is her gut instinct," spokeswoman Helen Kearns said. Kuneva is leading a review of the eight basic laws which govern cross-border consumer rights. That review, which has just begun and has so far resulted in a preliminary document raising questions, will eventually lead to proposed revisions of current EU laws, the spokeswoman said.

(Additional reporting by David Lawsky in Brussels)

 BRUSSELS (Reuters) — The European Commission is reviewing whether the software giant is seeking unreasonable prices for operating system information. The European Commission warned Microsoft on Thursday it faced further fines in its antitrust case for seeking unreasonable prices from software makers for interoperability information. The latest formal charges could lead to new fines against the U.S. software giant, the commission said in a statement.

The Commission found in 2004 that Microsoft (Charts) violated European Union antitrust rules by failing to give information to other makers of small-business servers needed to compete with Microsoft’s own products. Microsoft has said it would be charging for interoperability information because it was based on its own innovative work. "The Commission’s current view is that there is no significant innovation in these protocols," European Competition Commissioner Neelie Kroes said in a statement. "I am therefore again obliged to take formal measures to ensure that Microsoft complies with its obligations."

Microsoft has four weeks to reply to the charges. The Commission rejected 1,500 pages of information provided by Microsoft. It said it is still reviewing whether information submitted earlier to help software makers develop programs that run smoothly with Microsoft’s Windows operating system is complete and accurate. Microsoft has appealed the original 2004 decision to a European court which is due to decide on the case this year.

The company’s shares rose 1 percent in Wednesday trading. IBM (Charts) shares edged downward while Oracle (Charts) rose nearly 1 percent.