As the Portugal thread showed, there are many countries where net-neutrality is being violated and people don't know what they can do to help. I've decided to put together this post to spread the knowledge on EU net-neutrality rules and how we can make sure they're enforced properly.
This is all based on my own experience with my local regulators, as I'm in the same boat as many of you.
I'm going to concentrate on zero-rating specifically, as that is used to bypass net-neutrality in many countries. I'm not going to go into much detail on the guideline itself. I'll just define the process that one can follow(and I've followed it successfully for a zero-rating case)
- the regulation that defines net-neutrality in the EU is 2015/2120
- BEREC has made an implementation guideline, which your local NRA has to follow. Points 40-48 talk specifically about zero-rating.
- in each zero-rating case, your local NRA has to analyse it on a case-by-case basis and see if it violates net-neutrality and user-rights according to the BEREC guideline. This should be documented, so anyone can request to see it. If no such document exists, there are local laws for how to force the NRA to publish such a document.
- If you can't find any local laws, you can base your claim on the European Code of Good Administrative Behaviour. Point 2C, puts an obligation on every NRA to give reasons for its decisions. In zero-rating cases, this means they have to be able to explain how a specific case does not go against the 2015/2120 directive. This is usually done by documenting each point in the BEREC guideline and giving a summary. Point 5(transparency) also says that civil servants have to be willing to explain their activities and keep public records(the analysis) of these activities.
- If they(your NRA) are not willing to make a proper analysis based on the BEREC implementation guidelines, your only chance is to gather as much evidence as you can(all your e-mails) and go to the European Ombudsman and file a complaint. They should be able to help you and they'll force your NRA to actually start doing their job(analysing zero-rating cases and seeing if these go against 2015/2120 or not)
- Once you have their analysis, that is based on the BEREC guidelines, the real "fun" starts.
- Start by making sure every single point in the guidelines has been addressed in the NRA's analysis. If not, ask them why have they ignored some important points.
- Be specific, point them towards the guideline and ask specific questions. eg. "If I can watch netflix(or any other streaming service) for X hours each month, and the zero-rated streaming service without any timelimit, how does that not limit end-user choice?" If something limits end-user choice it's against the EU rules. (BEREC 42, 43, 45)
- Another thing you can push is, "if a competitor tries to enter the market with a new streaming service, how does the fact that the existing streaming-service is zero-rated affect their ability to compete. Especially when the new competitors service can only be used for X hours each month, but the zero-rated application does not have such a time limit." (BEREC 46.4.3)
- to sum up. If you can build a case, showing that a specific zero-rating is affecting end-user choice in a negative way or that it's affecting the internet as an engine of innovation negatively, your NRA has to take action. If your NRA does not take action use your local laws to force them, or use the European Code of Good Administrative Behaviour and the European ombudsman to force them.
I hope this will help someone, somewhere who wants to fight the net-neutrality battle. The EU has given us tools to use, lets use them.
I hope we can create a list of countries and regulatory agencies here. So if anyone knows a country/NRA pair, please post it and i'll update this post.
country/NRA list:
- Portugal: ANACOM
by throwawaysomth http://ift.tt/2ySkDI6
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