Net Neutrality Consultation: LQDN Denounces Failed Wait-and-See Approach

BEREC⁴Body of European Regulators for Electronic Communications, http://erg.eu.int/about/index_en.htm, the EU Telecoms regulator, has released its draft “guidelines on transparency and Net neutrality”⁵Downloadable here: http://erg.eu.int/doc/berec/consultation_draft_guidelines.pdf and opened a consultation. These guidelines propose letting operators manage their networks without any consideration for Net Neutrality, as long as they document their practices, arguing that “transparency” will enable customers to choose. Yet, the shortcomings of the of the wait-and-see approach defended by both BEREC and the European Commission are abundantly clear: it mimics the already failed policy of OFCOM, the UK regulator, and will fail in the same manner, as it does not guarantee EU citizens a real possibility to switch to a neutral operator.

As the RespectMyNet.eu⁶http://respectmynet.eu/ reporting platform clearly shows, Net neutrality violations are becoming widespread across EU Internet access markets, in particular in the wireless sector. These violations harm fundamental rights, competition and innovation in the digital economy, and the regulators’ lenient attitude towards such harmful traffic management practices deters investment in broadband networks, both fixed and mobile.

“The EU Commission and its commissioner Neelie Kroes once showed⁷http://www.europarl.europa.eu/sides/getDoc.do?pubRef=-//EP//TEXT+IM-PRESS+20100113IPR67216+0+DOC+XML+V0//EN strong commitment to preserving Net neutrality. They are now backing down with their wait-and-see approach, having failed to propose any tangible action. It is time for this ambivalence to end, and for Net neutrality to be protected across Europe. BEREC must swiftly release a comprehensive and objective study on ongoing discriminatory traffic management practices, as required by the EU Parliament⁸https://www.laquadrature.net/en/net-neutrality-resolution-adopted-in-eu-parliament, so that the need for further regulation can be clearly established. Concerned citizens should respond to the BEREC consultation to denounce its wait-and-see approach and the offer of “transparency” as a magic bullet for solving Net neutrality violations!” declared Jérémie Zimmermann, co-founder and spokesperson of La Quadrature du Net.