By Tanesha Thompson
On Tuesday, June 14, 2016, the federal appeals court upheld government net-neutrality rule, which was a big defeat to cable and telephone companies fending off tighter oversight of the consumer broadband business. The ruling by the U.S Court of Appeals for District of Columbia favored the net-neutrality rules as a way to help prevent unfair competition from internet service providers. This matter is of such great importance that it has place the European Union in a battle clash over regulatory issues during its proposal now to hold online service to the same rules and regulations as telecommunication firms. U.S telecommunication companies believe that the ruling was an overreach by government, which has now posed an issue for telecommunication companies with the European Union during proposal proceedings.
According to the proposal presented by EU officials, Chat service apps like WhatsApp, may be subject to new oversights like network security by national telecommunication regulators. A spokesman for the European Commission said the purpose of the propose is to “encourage investment in next-generation networks, set the conditions for modern digital networks and provide a level playing field for all market players.” Although the net-neutrality in the U.S is an issues being address in the proposal. Another concern is who will be profiting from the detail information of their customers offline and online habits.
The EU proposals are based on the grounds of telecommunications industry lobbying that were set in motion years ago and they are issues that go far beyond the relationships of technology firms. The EU have passed legislation to eliminate money-spinning fee that harm the customer’s pockets, which was a grave concern to many consumer groups. Another issues that may keep this proposal at a standstill, is whether to policing agencies should have to option to wiretap. It is still unclear if the EU’s proposal is a true option, but it is a matter that is currently being discussed at the table.
Many of the tech companies believe that the oversight of the EU national telecommunication regulator will increase cost and lead to jurisdictional disputes that may discourage them from presenting new services. Like the U.S, the EU is try to even the playing field regarding Chat Application. They provided a service, but their companies are not being held accountable for action that would put a halt to regular telecommunication firms like Comcast Corp. or Verizon Communications. It would actually be great to treat all content coming across online service like Microsoft Corp’s Skype, Facebook, and WhatsApp to a certain standard for European customers. The EU only wants what best for its consumers and these online services may just have to bite the bullet.
Student Bio: Tanesha Thompson is a 3L student at Suffolk University Law School. She is also a Lead Article Editors for Journal of High Technology.
Disclaimer: The views expressed in this blog are the views of the author alone and do not represent the views of JHTL or Suffolk University Law School.
