Today European parliament members are to vote on proposals over net neutrality law for the EU. The vote follows previous net neutrality reforms and calls for clearer legislation on the issue.
Net neutrality refers to the concept that all internet traffic should be treated equally regardless of its content or origin. This would mean internet service providers couldn’t create ‘fast lanes’ – meaning they couldn’t slow down or speed up access to certain websites or content.
As the regulations stand today, these ‘fast lanes’ are legal in cases where they provide ‘specialised services’. In a letter by numerous tech companies to the European Parliament, it is argued these specialised services are too broadly defined and therefore exploitable. In a fact sheet uploaded by the European Commission, specialised services are said to include ‘IPTV, high-definition videoconferencing or healthcare services like telesurgery’. The European Commission argued that giving priority to these services was not creating a two-tiered internet, but merely making sure all needs are served, as some services would require certain transmission qualities. Opponents are unconvinced, stating this exception damages start-ups and small businesses who would be less able to pay for faster access and therefore left unable to compete. Current proposals also allow a policy called zero rating, or sponsored connectivity, which allows the data used by certain services or applications to not count against a user’s limited monthly data. The European Commission argues that this practice does not block competing content but instead offers “interesting deals” for price-sensitive users. This for example would mean a video streaming service such as Netflix could pay ISPs to not charge users for the data required to stream, thus encouraging more users to choose Netflix over competing streaming services.
Opponents to these regulations have come out in support of a set of amendments that are to be voted on today. If the amendments are rejected, it would leave the net neutrality proposal as it stands currently, which some experts claim would leave it too weak to exploitation. The amendments would tighten up the current legislation.
The results of the vote are expected later today.