[Chapter-delegates] Net Neutrality Vote In EU Parliament: A False Promise?

Tue Apr 1 04:26:26 PDT 2014

Here it is:

Telecoms firms brace for EU 'net neutrality' vote to limit service fees 
<http://europeanprivacyassociatin.us2.list-manage1.com/track/click?u=957214c9b3f3f5477a8fcc16d&id=248a9603a7&e=0b241720c2>
/Reuters, Foo Yun Chee, 31 March 2014 /

Regards,

B.

Dne 1.4.2014 13:12, piše Carlos Vera Quintana:
> Do you have the URL?
>
> Thank you
>
> Carlos Vera Quintana
> 0988141143
> Sígueme @cveraq
>
> El 01/04/2014, a las 6:21, Borka Jerman Blazic <borka at e5.ijs.si 
> <mailto:borka at e5.ijs.si>> escribió:
>
>>
>> Hi,
>>
>> You are certainly right in general, however there was published 
>> yesterday an opinion that slightly differ
>> (the Commission spokesman claims that the proposal guarantee no 
>> packet discrimination
>> and net neutrality).    I am enclosing it!
>>
>> Regards,
>>
>> Borka
>>
>>
>> Dne 1.4.2014 11:51, piše Halbersztadt Jozef (jothal):
>>> Colleagues,
>>>
>>>
>>> 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.
>>>
>>>
>>> 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.
>>>
>>>
>>> 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.
>>>
>>>
>>> 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.
>>>
>>>
>>> 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.
>>>
>>>
>>> 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.
>>>
>>>
>>> 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..
>>>
>>>
>>> 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.
>>>
>>> http://savetheinternet.eu/en/
>>>
>>>
>>> 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.
>>>
>>>
>>> More here:
>>>
>>> http://www.laquadrature.net/en/net-neutrality-vote-in-eu-parliament-meps-must-protect-the-internet
>>>
>>>
>>> Regards
>>> Jozef Halbersztadt
>>> -- 
>>> 'JotHal' jozef [dot] halbersztadt [at] gmail [dot] com
>>> Internet Society Poland http://www.isoc.org.pl
>>>
>>>
>>> _______________________________________________
>>> As an Internet Society Chapter Officer you are automatically subscribed
>>> to this list, which is regularly synchronized with the Internet Society
>>> Chapter Portal (AMS):https://portal.isoc.org
>>
>>
>> -- 
>> 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
>> <Telecoms firms brace for EU.docx>
>> _______________________________________________
>> As an Internet Society Chapter Officer you are automatically subscribed
>> to this list, which is regularly synchronized with the Internet Society
>> Chapter Portal (AMS): https://portal.isoc.org

-- 
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
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