<html>
<head>
<meta content="text/html; charset=ISO-8859-1"
http-equiv="Content-Type">
</head>
<body text="#000000" bgcolor="#FFFFFF">
<div class="moz-cite-prefix"><br>
Hi,<br>
<br>
You are certainly right in general, however there was published
yesterday an opinion that slightly differ<br>
(the Commission spokesman claims that the proposal guarantee no
packet discrimination<br>
and net neutrality). I am enclosing it!<br>
<br>
Regards,<br>
<br>
Borka<br>
<br>
<br>
Dne 1.4.2014 11:51, piše Halbersztadt Jozef (jothal):<br>
</div>
<blockquote
cite="mid:CACZHd23yze7w=U8bNMYWOzy2WrgrNBL=fpAYvinaxxzaYcvwUA@mail.gmail.com"
type="cite">
<div dir="ltr">
<div>Colleagues,
<p lang="en-US"><br>
</p>
<p lang="en-US"><font>In two days the European Parliament will
finally vote on the proposal for a Telecoms Single Market.
This
proposal was initially designed to deliver the promise of
enshrining
Net Neutrality as law across Europe. Yet unless the
European
Parliament rises to the challenge, it they may actually
end up
undermining net neutrality net through unclear and
confusing
legislation.</font></p>
<p lang="en-US"><br>
</p>
<p lang="en-US"><font>In fact the prime objective behind the
Telecoms proposal, is not to ensure Net Neutrality, but
promote
so-called “specialised services”. This definition of
“specialised
services” put forward by the European Commission has been
criticized for undermining core principles of
nondiscrimination
online. Its aims to create a “special lane for high
consuming
services”, such as video or social media services which
are
available today free of charge.</font></p>
<p lang="en-US"><br>
</p>
<p lang="en-US"><font>Under this definition of “specialised
services,” telecommunications companies will be positioned
to
become internet gatekeepers, controlling innovation,
strangling
competition, and ultimately restricting freedom of
expression online.</font></p>
<p lang="en-US"><br>
</p>
<p lang="en-US"><font>Furthermore, the regulation was
presented by the Commission to the European Parliament
only in
September 2013, forcing the parliamentarians to adopt a
ridiculously
tight timeline to debate and vote before the upcoming
elections in
May 2014.</font></p>
<p lang="en-US"><br>
</p>
<p lang="en-US"><font>During this process, the European
Commission ignored internal criticism regarding the
harmful impacts
the current Telecoms proposal will have on entrepreneurs
and the
fundamental rights of European citizens. The European
Commission also
ignored serious concerns raised by the Body of European
Regulators
for Electronic Communications (BEREC). This European
agency in charge
of promoting an efficient telecoms market that maximizes
benefits for
consumers and businesses alike, clearly identified the
provisions
included in the Telecoms proposal as being
“counterproductive” to
that end.</font></p>
<p lang="en-US"><br>
</p>
<p lang="en-US"><font>Despite the tight timeline, almost all
parliamentary committees involved in the Telecoms proposal
managed to
add necessary improvements to the text and adopt
provisions
safeguarding against network discrimination. Regrettably,
the
Industry, Research and Energy (ITRE) Committee, in charge
of the
Telecoms proposal in the Parliament, rejected many of the
improvements suggested by other committees in the final
version of
the proposal adopted prior to submission to the European
Parliament's. When push came to shove, the ITRE Committee
followed
the Christian Democrat (EPP) rapporteur Pilar del Castillo
questionable
defense of the European Commission objectives at the
expense of Net
Neutrality. </font>
</p>
<p lang="en-US"><br>
</p>
<p lang="en-US"><font>Despite these setbacks, the European
Parliament has an opportunity to prevent anti-competitive,
anti-innovation policies by enshrining net neutrality into
law across
Europe in the Telecoms proposal’s final vote on April 3 by
adopting
the positive compromise amendments tabled by the
Social-Democrats
(S&D), the Greens (Greens/EFA), the United Left
(GUE/NGL) and the
Liberals (ALDE). The Parliament has a chance to stop
network
discrimination in its tracks by enshrining net neutrality
into EU
level law, as was already done in two EU countries, the
Netherlands
and Slovenia..</font></p>
<p lang="en-US"><br>
</p>
<p lang="en-US"><font>Citizens across the European Union can
contact their representatives and urge them to vote for
the
alternative amendments and prevent the Internet to look
more like
cable TV, where your operator has total control over what
you can
access online, even charging you extra for certain
services. A group
of NGOs designed and launched a platform making to
everyone very easy
to call, email or fax members of the European Parliament.</font></p>
<p lang="en-US"><font><a moz-do-not-send="true"
href="http://savetheinternet.eu/en/">http://savetheinternet.eu/en/</a></font></p>
<p lang="en-US"><br>
</p>
<p lang="en-US"><font>In this action the citizen are informed
that adopting of alternative provisions is the way to
effectively
enact Net Neutrality and ensure non-discrimination in the
digital
economy. While telecom companies (in particular those
represented by
the European Telecommunications Network Operators'
Association
(ETNO)) have been circulating misleading information about
these
amendments, they will in fact safeguard the ability of
telecom
operators to launch innovative “specialised services”,
guarantee
that innovative small and medium enterprises (SMEs) can
benefit from
a level playing-field, but also protect citizens' freedom
of
communication and consumers' freedom of choice. </font>
</p>
<p lang="en-US"><br>
</p>
<p lang="en-US"><font>More here:</font></p>
<p lang="en-US"><font><a moz-do-not-send="true"
href="http://www.laquadrature.net/en/net-neutrality-vote-in-eu-parliament-meps-must-protect-the-internet">http://www.laquadrature.net/en/net-neutrality-vote-in-eu-parliament-meps-must-protect-the-internet</a></font></p>
<br clear="all">
</div>
Regards<br clear="all">
<div>Jozef Halbersztadt<br>
</div>
<div>-- <br>
'JotHal' jozef [dot] halbersztadt [at] gmail [dot] com<br>
Internet Society Poland <a moz-do-not-send="true"
href="http://www.isoc.org.pl" target="_blank">http://www.isoc.org.pl</a>
</div>
</div>
<br>
<fieldset class="mimeAttachmentHeader"></fieldset>
<br>
<pre wrap="">_______________________________________________
As an Internet Society Chapter Officer you are automatically subscribed
to this list, which is regularly synchronized with the Internet Society
Chapter Portal (AMS): <a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="https://portal.isoc.org">https://portal.isoc.org</a></pre>
</blockquote>
<br>
<br>
<div class="moz-signature">-- <br>
Prof.dr.Borka Jerman-Blažič
Head, Laboratory for Open systems and Networks
Jožef Stefan Institute and
Faculty of Economics, Ljubljana University
Slovenia
tel. +386 1 477 3408
tel. +386 1 477 3756
mob. +386 41 678 410</div>
</body>
</html>