SoylentNews

upstart writes:

A coalition of more than 50 European consumer and digitals rights groups, smaller ISPs and broadcasters are urging EU policymakers and Member States to reject a controversial network fee proposal being lobbied for by major telcos in the region:

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

Original Submission