Google, Apple, Meta and Netflix may face network fees as EU launches telecommunications sector consultation

The European Commission launched a consultation on the future of the telecommunications sector in Europe on Thursday, beginning a process that could lead to Google, Apple, Meta Platform and Alphabet’s Netflix paying some network costs.

For more than two decades, Deutsche Telekom, Orange, Telefonica, Telecom Italia and other carriers have been pushing for major tech companies to help roll out 5G and broadband.

They argue that companies such as Amazon and Microsoft account for more than half of internet data traffic.

Tech companies in response are calling it an internet tax that will undermine EU net neutrality rules to treat all users equally. The 12-week consultation will end on May 19.

European industry chief Thierry Breton cited the heavy investment needed to roll out 5G and broadband, saying he was not targeting any company.

“The burden of these investments is getting heavier and heavier. And this partly because of a low return on investment in the telecom sector, the increase in the cost of raw materials, and the global geopolitical context, the cost of energy, of course. , because it has a big role to play,” he told a press conference.

“I want to say right away, that all this thinking is not aimed at anyone at all, but rather our fellow citizens,” Breton said.

He said a contribution mechanism could be one of the solutions.

According to a document seen by Reuters last month, respondents will be asked whether major traffic generators should be subject to a mandatory mechanism of direct payments to fund network rollout and also whether the EU should create a tax or continental or digital fund.

“We hope to move very quickly so that in the summer we can come back with conclusions and then we’ll see what we do to keep improving,” Breton said.

Any legislative proposal will need to be approved by EU countries and EU lawmakers before it can become law.

“This consultation is a positive and urgent step towards addressing major imbalances in the internet ecosystem for the benefit of European end-users,” telecoms lobby group ETNO said in a statement.

The Computer & Communications Industry Association (CCIA) technology group criticized the proposal.

“Europeans are already paying telecom operators for internet access, they shouldn’t have to pay telecom operators a second time through more expensive streaming and cloud services,” said Christian Borggreen, Vice President senior of CCIA Europe, in a press release.

© Thomson Reuters 2023