Operators will be able to undermine net neutrality less

Things have now been clarified: the practice of “zero rating”, or free traffic in French, does not comply with the net neutrality framework in Europe. Consequently, Internet access providers must refrain from offering them, in order to ensure equal treatment in the routing of all flows on the network.

This clarification came in June, after a meeting of the Body of European Regulators of Electronic Communications (Berec) – a body which brings together the regulatory authorities of the Old Continent, such as Arcep in France. Purpose: to publish an update to its net neutrality guidelines.

” Zero-pricing options are a subset of tiered pricing practices that are ineligible “, we read in the document, finalized on June 9 and published on the 14th on the Berec website. The body adds that all differentiated pricing practices are inadmissible in operators’ offers, when they are linked to applications or services.

This is valid, specifies Berec, for the Internet access provider which would apply a zero cost to its own content or applications or to a third-party service through the subsidy of its own data. For example, Bouygues Telecom which would not count the traffic of an application, because it is its subsidiary, or SFR which would offer the traffic of Spotify, but not that of Deezer.

The Berec whistles the end of recess with the “zero rating”

This update of the European rules was expected. Its update was intended to reflect the judgment of 15 September 2020 of the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) concerning the practice of “zero rating”. For the jurisdiction, the “free traffic” violates the rules on net neutrality. All that remained was for Berec to get up to speed.

Berec’s previous net neutrality rules did not categorically prohibit practices of selectively sparing certain apps or services (e.g. WhatsApp), or any type of content (e.g. video or music) , notes the Center for Internet and Society at Stanford Law School.

With such openness, Internet service providers in Europe have been able to take advantage of it and create attractive commercial offers, counting here such and such a very popular application, but very greedy in mobile data, there such and such a use. This could have a powerful attractive effect on the public, encouraging them to switch to another subscription or another operator.

But above all, this risked favoring players who were already well established in the digital landscape, by strengthening their positions in the face of more modest or emerging challengers. These practices benefit platforms that are identified by the public, and therefore already popular, in order to attract customers. Otherwise, they serve to support the use of a subsidiary of an ISP.

The point of weakness in the context of net neutrality now appears to be resolved. However, the outcome was relatively certain, given the judgment of the Court of Justice, even if concerns were expressed. These zero rating policies should therefore gradually disappear, otherwise the ISPs who practice them will soon hear from their regulatory authority.