According to the telecoms industry, the five largest online services account for around 55 percent of data traffic.
(Photo: Reuters)
Berlin The EU Commission’s plans to share the costs of the Internet infrastructure with large technology groups have met with massive resistance from German consumer protection groups.
Brussels is endangering the open and free Internet with the idea of a European data toll for online services such as Netflix, Youtube or Meta, said the head of the Federal Association of Consumer Organizations (VZBV), Ramona Pop, the Handelsblatt. “The negative consequences for consumers, competition and net neutrality must outweigh the profit intentions of the telecommunications industry.”
In fact, the question is who should pay for it when a few large Internet companies use the majority of the data traffic through their offers. European network operators have been asking platforms with high data throughput to pay for years. The EU recently started a consultation process for a so-called data toll law. The deadline for comments is Friday.
In a separate statement, consumer advocates refer to the experiences in South Korea, where there has been a kind of data toll since 2016. The country is a “negative example of regulatory intervention,” says the paper that is available to the Handelsblatt. End users face higher costs for broadband use. In addition, some online services reduced the quality of their streaming services in order to save on network charges.
In their statement, the consumer advocates also point out that it has not yet been possible to prove that a market failure can be remedied by introducing grid fees. “In this respect, objectively speaking, there is no need for regulation of grid fees.”
The five largest online services are said to cause around 55 percent of data traffic
The VZBV is also critical of the fact that the EU Commission’s catalog of questions on the consultation process provides “little starting points for the consumer perspective”. This suggests that the Commission wants to implement its plans for a data toll “regardless of losses,” said Pop. “Consumer interests play almost no role.”
>> Read also: Europe’s cartel guard is fighting with new weapons Google
For the EU, the priority is that “all market participants who benefit from digital change” should make a “fair and proportionate contribution” to the infrastructure. This is what it says in the “Declaration on Digital Rights and Principles for the Digital Decade”, which was published in November 2022. The questionnaire for the data toll plans refers to this. Telecom companies see this as an opportunity to be financially supported in expanding their data lines.
The EU consultation on the subject gives the telecom industry hope that it will reach its goal. Providers claim that the five largest online services account for around 55 percent of data traffic. This costs European network operators around 15 billion dollars a year, according to the Mobile World Congress trade fair in Barcelona in February.
EU Industry Commissioner Thierry Breton recently pointed out, in line with the interests of the telecommunications companies, that high-speed Internet requires high investments. “That’s why we’re addressing the important question of who should pay for next-generation connectivity infrastructure, including whether online platforms should share that investment cost with telecom operators.”
However, the German Monopolies Commission, which advises the Federal Government and the Bundestag on competition policy and regulation, also expressed reservations. According to a paper, regulatory intervention that forces payment for online services to network operators is “currently unjustified”.
There is no evidence that a redistribution mechanism between service providers such as Netflix or YouTube and network operators could improve the market situation. “At the same time, such an intervention could cause distortions of competition. In addition, sufficient financial resources are available for the expansion of the fixed and mobile network.”
In any case, the traffic light coalition agrees that the Brussels plans violate the principle of net neutrality. This means that all data on the Internet must be treated equally, regardless of its origin, content and destination. If some large corporations had to pay a fee for the data they send, this would possibly undermine neutrality.
More: The EU Commission wants to direct billions into the expansion of telecom networks