European Parliament Votes Down Net Neutrality Amendments

By Monika Ermert for Intellectual Property Watch

After another heated debate, the European Parliament today voted down several amendments aimed at strengthening network neutrality in the new telecommunications package which has been on the agenda of the European Union for more than two years.

A majority of 436 to 238 members of the Parliament rejected an amendment that sought to disallow management of internet traffic based on different classes of traffic. Similarly, amendments to allow member states to ban zero-rating were voted down by a coalition of members of the European People’s Party (EPP) and the Socialists and Democrats (S&D).

Commission Vice-President Andrus Ansip, responsible for the Digital Single Market, and Digital Single Market Commissioner Günther Öttinger, both welcomed the adoption, mainly underlining the provision to regulate roaming charges. Roaming fees for calling, sending text messages and using mobile internet when traveling in the EU and in EEA countries will be capped starting in May next year and would be completely “banned from 15 June 2017,” according to the Commission. Press release is here.

Former Commissioner, now MEP, Viviane Reding (EPP) welcomed the roaming cap as the result of a 13 year fight.

Pirate Party/Green Party Group member Julia Reda on the other hand warned the regulation did not even deliver in that respect, as the plan to place an end to roaming surcharges in Europe had been adopted “pending a review of pricing and consumption patterns” and roaming surcharges would “only be suspended up to a ‘fair use’ limit beyond which they still apply.” With regard to net neutrality she called the new law the exact contrary of the much-needed network neutrality regulation.

Jan Philipp Albrecht (Green Party) called the decision a “dirty deal,” that in fact would limit net neutrality and privilege big Silicon Valley providers and the telecom industry.

Many civil society groups issued statements of strong concern about the net neutrality outcome, among them: Access, La Quadrature du Net, and European Digital Rights.