EU governments must make net neutrality a fundamental principle o...
EU governments must make net neutrality a fundamental principle of Europe’s telecommunications market, French digital rights activists said on Thursday. As governments and European Parliament members prepare to re-start talks on the stalled telecommunications regulation reform package, La Quadrature…
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du Net urged French officials, and other countries, to seek changes to language it says threatens net neutrality. The provisions have been pushed by AT&T and other operators as part of the universal service directive, the organization said. One requires operators to give customers information “on any other conditions limiting access to and/or use of services and applications, where such conditions are allowed under national law.” This phrasing suggests that anti-net neutrality practices could be adopted by operators as long as they clearly notify Internet subscribers, a “total contradiction with the essence of the Internet,” the organization said. A second clause allows EU states to require providers to inform subscribers of any “change to conditions limiting access to and/or use of services and applications,” where such conditions are allowed under national law. But there’s no regulation on net neutrality now, and the ambiguous language leaves room for interpretation infringing on net neutrality, the organization said. Other language allows national authorities to “take action to address degradation of service, including the hindering or slowing down of traffic, to the detriment of consumers,” but it’s just a recital without force of law, La Quadrature said. There are legitimate reasons to manage network traffic, such as congestion, but controlling peer-to- peer traffic isn’t one of them, the organization said. Instead, operators faced with growing bandwidth demands should be given incentives to buy more bandwidth, it said. Europe will lag behind if the U.S. FCC’s plan to guarantee net neutrality succeeds but the EU fails to enact similar principles, it said. It urged the committees negotiating the package to get rid of the anti-net neutrality wording and make net neutrality a fundamental regulatory principle. The most contentious amendment in the talks will likely be Amendment 38, which bars governments from restricting the fundamental rights and freedoms of end users without a prior ruling by a judicial authority. Meanwhile, European Parliament political groups listed their candidates for the telecom package conciliation committee, the Industry Committee said. Lawmakers will name their negotiating team Monday, it said.