JAKARTA - The European Commission on Thursday, February 23, launched consultations on the future of Europe's telecommunications sector, starting a process that could lead to Alphabet's Google, Apple, Meta Platform Inc., and Netflix to pay some network fees.
The move by the EU executive agency comes after more than two decades of lobbying by Deutsche Telekom, Orange, Telefonica, Italian Telecom and other carriers who want leading tech companies to contribute to 5G and broadband development. They say companies, including Amazon and Microsoft, account for more than half of internet traffic.
Meanwhile, tech leaders call it an internet tax that would undermine EU network neutrality rules to treat all users fairly.
EU officials said 12-week consultations would review the "fair contribution by all digital players". Technical and telecommunications companies will be asked to answer 60 questions. The commission is likely to propose legislation after consultation, which EU countries and EU legislators need to approve before it can become laws.
According to documents seen by Reuters last month, respondents will be asked whether CAPs (contain application providers) / LTGs (large traffic plants) must comply with a mandatory direct payment mechanism to fund network development. Kuesioner also asked whether the EU should make taxes or continental digital funds.
"This consolidation is a positive and urgent step to address the huge inequality in the internet ecosystem for the benefit of end-European users," the ETNO telecommunications lobby group said in a statement.
The Computer & Communications Industry Association (CCIA) technology group criticized the proposal.
"Europeans have paid telecommunications operators for internet access, they cannot pay telco a second time through more expensive streaming and cloud services," Christian Borggreen, senior vice president of CCIA Europe, said in a statement.
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