European Parliament does not deliver Net Neutrality

The EU has rejected legal amendments that would firmly protect the concept of net neutrality in Europe. The European Parliament voted in favor of new regulations which proponents say establish an internet “without discrimination,” but advocates for net neutrality say the laws contain a number of loopholes which could lead to the creation of a tiered internet service. The legislation also includes an end to roaming charges in Europe, although some critics say those laws are also less robust than they appear.parliament

The new legislation allows the creation of internet fast lanes for “specialized services” and lets ISPs offer so-called “zero-rating” products — i.e. apps and services that don’t count toward monthly data allowances — without restrictions. These loophole will allow big internet companies to favor certain services in commercial deals. (For example, an ISP could agree with Apple to make Apple Music “zero-rated,” leaving rival music streaming services at a disadvantage.)

Letting “specialized services” use an internet fast lane makes sense for devices that deserve priority, such as self-driving cars and remote medical operations, but critics say the legal language used is too vague and will allow big firms to pay for faster access.
The newly adopted EU legislation also allows ISPs to speed up or slow down traffic depending on what sort of data is being sent — allowing them to make video calls more important than emails, for example. There are worries that this will lead to encrypted internet traffic receiving slower speeds as ISPs can’t determine what sort of data it contains. The legislation also allows ISPs to preemptively throttle traffic before times of increased demand.

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