We have four days to save the open Internet in Europe
By Sir Tim Berners-Lee, Professor Lawrence Lessig, and Professor Barbara van Schewick
Network neutrality for hundreds of millions of Europeans is within our grasp. Securing this is essential to preserve the open Internet as a driver for economic growth and social progress. But the public needs to tell regulators now to strengthen safeguards, and not cave in to telecommunications carriers’ manipulative tactics.
We are so close. In October, the European Parliament voted on network neutrality rules for the European Union. Now regulators are writing guidelines to determine how the law will be applied in practice. These guidelines could secure net neutrality in Europe – if regulators use them to close potential loopholes in the law.
Telecom companies know this. And so they are lobbying hard to get regulators to adopt weak guidelines that would benefit their businesses over the public interest. They have connections to the highest levels of EU governments, a well-oiled lobbying machine, and lots of money to pay lawyers and experts to write extensive comments. Their latest move came last Wednesday, when the 17 largest telecom companies in Europe threatened not to invest in the next generation of 5G mobile networks unless regulators water down the guidelines.
We – the ordinary users of the Internet – don’t have expensive lobbyists. But we have millions of people – everyday Europeans, startups, investors, small businesses, activists, NGOs, bloggers, independent artists – who have experienced the power of the open Internet first hand and want to protect it.
That’s where you come in. For a few more days, until July 18, the public has an opportunity to comment on the guidelines and convince regulators to close loopholes and protect the open Internet in Europe.
The Internet has become the critical infrastructure of our time – for our daily life, for our economy, for our democracy. Strong guidelines will protect the future of competition, innovation, and creative expression in Europe, enhancing Europe’s ability to lead in the digital economy. They will ensure that every European, no matter the color of their skin or the size of their wallets, has an equal chance to innovate, compete, speak, organize, and connect online.
If we speak up now, we can convince regulators to do the right thing.