Net Neutrality in Germany and Europe

Abstract

This article focuses on net neutrality in Germany and Europe, its legal framework and the actual political debate. The characteristics of the European institutional framework are very complex, and net neutrality may be regulated under different substantive regulations, among them antitrust, telecommunications and media law. For each of these sets of rules, there is a very different allocation of powers between the EU and the Member State level. With a coordinative function, the European regulatory body BEREC plays an important role in the context of telecommunications regulation. BEREC’s approach so far has been to focus on transparency and effective competition, thus ensuring consumer’s choice. The Internet can connect people across cultures and continents and empower them to build new solutions to make lifestyles more sustainable. In the future, the Internet will very much be the backbone of our economies in almost every aspect. How we organize the internet, therefore, is an important issue. Important economic interests that I have not touched upon are at stake here. Net neutrality is also about allocation of costs and benefits between powerful players. For example, content providers and aggregators have very different interests compared to telecommunication operators who must provide the infrastructure needed for the internet. Governments and regulators are well advised to take a careful approach as a neutral umpire that steps in only when someone is playing foul or something is going wrong.