Internet
Digital Minister Wissing in exchange for a levy on network operators
Digital Minister Volker Wissing (FDP) does not want large tech companies to share in the expansion costs for telecom networks in Europe. photo
© Lennart Preiss/dpa
The EU Commission is discussing whether Internet companies such as Google & Co. should help finance the expansion of broadband in Europe. Digital Minister Wissing also sees the “open and free Internet” in danger.
Digital Minister Volker Wissing does not want large tech companies such as Google, Amazon, Apple, Netflix or Meta to share in the expansion costs for telecom networks in Europe. “The free and open Internet is a great asset that needs to be protected,” said the FDP politician to the “Welt am Sonntag”. One is therefore “against market intervention and complicated participation models”.
Network operators in Europe such as Deutsche Telekom, Telefónica and Vodafone have been asking Internet platforms with high data throughput to pay for years. The currently ongoing EU consultations on the subject give the telecom industry hope that it will reach its goal. Providers claim that the five largest online services account for around 55 percent of data traffic. That costs European network operators around 15 billion dollars a year, according to the Mobil World Congress in Barcelona in February.
According to Wissing, no need for regulation
After the market consultation, the Commission must decide whether to initiate legislation that could result in an EU regulation. Critics of a “fair share” regulation claim that users already pay for the data transport via their Internet connection fees.
In the interview, Wissing said there was a great danger of damaging the business location, putting small companies at a disadvantage and ultimately creating higher costs for customers. “In addition, every market intervention requires a justification – I don’t see any such at the moment.” Therefore there is no need for regulation.
demands of consumer associations
At the beginning of May, consumer associations had already rejected the demand for a levy on large online services. A mechanism of direct payments to telecommunications providers would have “immediate and far-reaching negative consequences, not only for European companies but also for consumers,” said a statement signed by the German Federation of Consumer Organizations (vzbv), among others.
The signatories to the appeal include the German Federal Association of Consumer Organizations, the European consumer protection organization BEUC (The European Consumer Organization), the US civil rights group EFF (Electronic Frontier Foundation), the Digitale Gesellschaft, the Wikipedia association Wikimedia Europe and various Internet and Telecom Service Provider.