The Internet Society is calling on European Parliament members to reject amendments to the proposed Digital Networks Act (DNA), warning that they could pave the way for network usage fees and weaken net neutrality. The draft report is due to be presented to the Parliament’s Industry, Research and Energy Committee on 10 November by its rapporteur, Michał Kobosko.
The European Commission published its DNA proposal in January. The Internet Society says the draft report’s amendments go beyond the Commission’s proposed voluntary conciliation process by requiring certain online services to negotiate interconnection agreements with network operators. The report would classify a company delivering at least 2% of peak traffic to EU users as a “significant traffic provider.” If negotiations failed, a national regulator could issue a binding decision.
The organization argues that this approach could lead to mandatory network usage payments. It also disputes claims in the report that online traffic creates unsustainable investment needs for operators, citing findings by the Body of European Regulators for Electronic Communications that IP interconnection works well and that the telecom sector is financially healthy.
Another proposed change would add content delivery networks (CDNs) to the definition of an electronic communications network. The Internet Society says CDNs cache content closer to users to improve delivery over existing networks, rather than providing internet connectivity. It warns that classifying them as telecom networks could bring them under interconnection and dispute-resolution rules, potentially widening the scope of payment obligations.
The group also says the report would weaken existing net neutrality safeguards. Among the changes it highlights, traffic management measures would be restricted only when their reasons are “purely” commercial, and the requirement that such measures last no longer than necessary would be removed. The report would also ease the conditions for specialized services, which the organization says could enable paid fast lanes.
The draft would extend net neutrality obligations to content providers, AI providers, operating systems and CDNs when they could influence traffic management or delivery quality. The Internet Society says the proposed condition is vague and argues that net neutrality rules should focus on access providers, which control users’ connection to the internet.
The Internet Society is asking MEPs to remove obligations requiring online services to negotiate interconnection and to reject binding dispute resolution. It also wants CDNs excluded from the telecom-network definition and net neutrality protections kept within the Open Internet Regulation, with the safeguards removed by the report restored. Earlier in the process, the organization joined more than 40 groups and experts in calling for changes to the Commission’s proposal.
Sources: Internet Society.