The Malta Independent on Sunday
EU regulations will protect net neutrality for its citizens, in spite of Trump’s repeal of legislation
Julian Bonnici The European Union’s robust regulations will protect net-neutrality, regardless of the decision of the USA’s media regulator to repeal such legislation, with the abolishment of roaming charges indicating that the union appears to be going the opposite direction with the recent push for a Single Digital Market, President at the Malta IT Law Association Antonio Ghio told The Malta Independent on Sunday.
“I seriously doubt that the EU would go down the Trump administration’s route,” he said.
Last Thursday, the USA’s media regulator, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), voted three to two to end net neutrality rules, which prevent Internet Service Providers (ISPs) from charging websites more for delivering certain services or blocking others should they, for example, compete with services a cable company also offers. Critics argue that this will place the future of the internet in the hands of media and telecommunication companies. Net Neutrality is the concept that ISPs treat everyone’s data equally – whether it is an email from your mother, a bank transfer or a streamed episode. This means that ISPs cannot discriminately decide which data is sent more quickly and which platforms are blocked, slowed down or required to pay extra. Ghio explained that Malta is protected by EU Regulation 2015/2120, which pro- hibits ISPs blocking or slowing down Internet traffic, except when necessary.
According to the website of the Body of European Regulators for Electronic Communications (BEREC), the exceptions are limited to traffic management to comply with a legal order, to ensure network integrity and security, and to manage congestion, provided that equivalent categories of traffic are treated equally.
The provisions also enshrine in EU law the user’s right to be ‘free to access and distribute information and content, run applications and use services of their choice’. Specific provisions ensure that national authorities can enforce this new right.
With regard to Malta, Ghio said that the EU regulation provides sufficient protection but lamented that a white paper presented in 2012 which would have enshrined internet access rights in the constitution.
While saying that it is impossible to see how this will proceed given that he accepts it will be challenged legally both within the USA and by the UN, explained that websites used by EU citizens in Europe will not be affected, as a majority of websites and their European , such as Facebook and Google, are registered within EU countries and thusly are protected by the EU rights.
He referred to Max Schrem’s successful complaint against Facebook with the European courts which prohibits the company from transferring from its Ireland headquarters to the United States.
On the FCC’s move itself, Ghio said that FCC chairman Ajit Pai, who was given this role after Donald Trump assumed the Presidency, was taking a rather simplistic view by asserting that the repeal will allow de-regulation, insisting that net neutrality needs regulation to protect citizen’s rights on the internet.