They suggest any move to legislative for a mechanism that funnels direct payments to telecom incumbents would have "immediate and wide-ranging" negative consequences for European businesses and consumer interest — arguing it would hit consumer costs and choice by damaging the diversity and quality of products and services available online, as well as harming competition.
"The risks of introducing network fees are many but ultimately the biggest threats would be to consumer rights, costs, and freedom of choice," they warn. "Users of the internet and mobile networks are the key players in the debate, not content providers. Consumers access content (and thus drive internet traffic and take-up), so the fee would effectively be a fee on consumer behaviour and choice."
[...] Major European telcos, meanwhile, want regional lawmakers to let them extract a network fee from Big Tech platforms whose popular services they claim are responsible for generating the most traffic across their fixed and mobile networks — spinning the ask to double dip (given consumers already paid them for connectivity) as getting tech giants like Meta and Netflix to contribute what they dub a "fair share" towards funding network infrastructure costs.
While the likes of Meta have pushed back that such a fee would actually be arbitrary and unfair.
Thing is, the European Commission, which is responsible for drafting EU legislative proposals, has been sounding suspiciously sympathetic to Big Telco's lobbying.
[...] The coalition also argues there is no evidence of the need for such an extraordinary network fee, claiming: "The concept of the contribution stems from large internet providers proposing a favourable solution for a problem that has not been identified, justified nor clarified. This 'solution' would harm and discriminate against every other part of European business and consumer good, to the single benefit only of large telecom providers."
They also raise antitrust concerns, suggesting additional payments made direct to telco incumbents would only crank up the "profitability gap" that already exists between traditional telecom operators vs smaller alternative operators and MVNOs; and vs other content services providers which rely on telcos' networks to provide "vital competition and choice for consumers", as their statement puts it.
The prospect of the Commission taking steps to cement Big Telco's grip on connectivity does seems at odds with recent moves by the Commission to regulate Big Tech's market muscle, under the incoming Digital Markets Act — lending weight to a critique of pro-telco bias in the upper echelons of the EU's executive.
[...] While Thomas Lohninger, from the digital rights NGO epicenter.works (another signatory to the coalition statement), takes direct aim at Breton, writing in another supporting statement that: "Never in the last decade has the European Commission appeared so captured by special interests and shown such disrespect for its own due diligence principles. Former France Telecom CEO and current commissioner Thierry Breton seems determined to sacrifice consumer choice, competition and the open internet for the profits of the telecom industry."
Expect to see this argument come around again in the US.
Also see:
Dutch Officials Warn That Big Telecom's Plan to Tax 'Big Tech' is a Dangerous Dud
Big Telecom's Quest to Tax Big Tech for No Reason Will Cause Massive Internet Instability
Related Stories
Big Telecom's Quest To Tax Big Tech For No Reason Will Cause Massive Internet Instability, Group Warns
For much of the last year, European telecom giants have been pushing for a tax on Big Tech company profits. They've tried desperately to dress it up as a reasonable adult policy proposal, but it's effectively just the same thing we saw during the U.S. net neutrality wars: telecom monopolies demanding other people pay them an additional troll toll — for no coherent reason.
To sell captured lawmakers on the idea, telecom giants have falsely claimed that Big Tech companies get a "free ride" on the Internet (just as they did during the U.S. net neutrality wars). To fix this problem they completely made up, Big Telecom argues Big Tech should be forced to help pay for the kind of broadband infrastructure upgrades the telecoms have routinely neglected for years.
It's a big, dumb, con. But yet again, telecom lobbyists have somehow convinced regulators that this blind cash grab is somehow sensible, adult policy, dubbing it their "sender pays" initiative. Dutifully, European Commission's industry chief Thierry Breton said last September he would launch a consultation on this "fair share" payment scheme in early 2023, ahead of any proposed legislation.
Dutch Officials Warn That Big Telecom's Plan To Tax 'Big Tech' Is A Dangerous Dud:
For much of the last year, European telecom giants have been pushing for a tax on Big Tech company profits. They've tried desperately to dress it up as a reasonable adult policy proposal, but it's effectively just the same thing we saw during the U.S. net neutrality wars: telecom monopolies demanding other people pay them an additional troll toll — for no coherent reason.
To sell captured lawmakers on the idea, telecom giants have falsely claimed that Big Tech companies get a "free ride" on the Internet (just as they did during the U.S. net neutrality wars). To fix this problem they completely made up, Big Telecom argues Big Tech should be forced to help pay for the kind of broadband infrastructure upgrades the telecoms have routinely neglected for years.
It's a big, dumb con. But yet again, telecom lobbyists have somehow convinced regulators that this blind cash grab is somehow sensible, adult policy. Dutifully, European Commission's industry chief Thierry Breton (himself a former telecom exec) said last September he would launch a consultation on this "fair share" payment scheme in early 2023, ahead of any proposed legislation.
[...] But they're often not looking at the real problem. Both in the EU and North America, regulators routinely and mindlessly let telecom giants consolidate and monopolize an essential utility. Those monopolies then work tirelessly to drive up rates and crush competition. And, utilizing their lobbying power, they've also routinely gleamed billions in subsidies for networks they routinely half-complete.
[...] If the EU successfully implements such a scheme, you can be absolutely sure the next step will be the U.S., with captured regulators like Brendan Carr (who has been beating this idiotic drum for a few years now) at the front of the parade at Comcast's and AT&T's behest.
(Score: 4, Interesting) by Username on Monday May 08, @08:53AM
Have Google charge a fee to be on thier network. Nobody is going to choose the isp that doesn't have Gmail, yt, maps or search.
(Score: 3, Insightful) by PiMuNu on Monday May 08, @02:45PM
> Thing is, the European Commission, which is responsible for drafting EU legislative proposals, has been sounding suspiciously sympathetic to Big Telco's lobbying.
Simple solution - just talk to your elected member of the EC and ask them to do something about it.
ROFL