Hello everyone and welcome to ZD Tech, ZDNet’s daily editorial podcast. My name is Louis Adamand today I will explain to you why the net neutrality debate is far from a done deal.
Net neutrality is a founding principle of Internet network management. If it has existed in fact for a long time, the term “net neutrality” appeared in the early 2000s, under the pen of Tim Wu, an American law professor.
In an article on the subject, the professor defines net neutrality as “a network that does not favor one application over another”.
A founding principle
In other words, on a neutral internet, all players are placed on an equal footing from a technical point of view. Being at Free or Orange theoretically gives you the same access to services offered on the internet, without the access provider favoring Netflix or YouTube to the detriment of other solutions, for example.
In the same way, a neutral Internet should guarantee you that your access provider does not look at the data that you consult, does not modify it and does not give priority to certain content more than to others. All packages are free and equal in rights.
Net neutrality is the principle that has shaped the Internet network since the 1970s. And over the past 10 years, this idea has managed to find a place in French law as well as in European texts, as well as in policies of US telecom regulators. But this principle also has its detractors, in particular the Internet service providers themselves.
Supporters and detractors
Indeed, many operators dispute the merits of net neutrality, putting forward several arguments. This policy in theory prohibits them from offering “zero rating” type offers on the mobile Internet. These offers aim to offer users the option of not deducting traffic linked to certain applications from their data plan, in order to make it more attractive to consumers.
In the same logic, some operators would like the biggest consumers of bandwidth, such as YouTube or Netflix, to pay part of the infrastructure costs they assume.
Finally, some would also like to be able to offer “priority” services for certain applications and certain data, for example health data.
An open debate
And this debate is far from over. In 2015, the United States introduced the principle of net neutrality as a principle of network management. But in 2016, Donald Trump appointed a staunch opponent of net neutrality to head the US telecommunications authority. And he hastens to reconsider this policy.
In Europe, we might have thought that the case was folded: since 2016, European laws guarantee the principle of network neutrality by making a few exceptions. But in a recent interview, European Commissioner Thierry Breton expressed his desire to put the subject back on the table.
Suffice to say that we risk hearing again about net neutrality in the years to come.