EU Telecom Overhaul Expected Wednesday, But Internet Still Contentious

There are concerns that the draft fails to protect distribution of and access to any content, application or service, that it could lead to discriminatory traffic management, and that language on cooperation between ISPs and copyright holders on lawful content may support France’s efforts to create a “three-strikes” system for tackling copyright piracy. Some parliament members and the digital- rights group La Quadrature du Net, are pushing for “Citizens’ Rights Amendments” to deal with these matters.

The hottest issue remains whether network providers be allowed to cut off access with any less basis than a court order. Lawmakers twice approved language to bar termination of Internet access without a prior judicial decision except in cases of public security, but governments rejected it. The compromise between parliament and representatives of the Council of Ministers now being considered requires that any measures taken on an end-user’s access to or use of services respect fundamental rights and freedoms, including the right to judgment by an independent and impartial tribunal acting with due process, with EU human-rights protections.

The draft respects the spirit of the earlier provisions and avoids another rejection by governments, said parliament member Catherine Trautmann, of France and the Party of European Socialists, who wrote a report analyzing European Commission proposals for changes to the e-communications framework directive.

But others said the text doesn’t support Internet rights enough. The original version may not have been legally watertight, but the compromise doesn’t guarantee a right to a judicial decision before access is cut off, said a representative of the Greens/European Free Alliance Group. Another said she'll reintroduce the original language at the vote.

Several lawmakers questioned what effect approval of the watered-down Internet shut-off amendment will have on French President Nicolas Sarkozy’s attempt to win passage of a “Creation and Internet” law, known as “HADOPI,” which sets up a three-strikes system for dealing with suspected online infringers that includes temporary termination of Internet access. A lawmaker said HADOPI allows an administrative body to set exorbitant fines, where users have no presumption of innocence or right to trial.

The EC information society and media commissioner, Viviane Reding, said the compromise makes Internet access an integral part of users’ free-speech rights, bars disproportionate interference in those rights and will always require a decision by an impartial judge for access termination.

The compromise was a “real model of cooperation” among political parties, committees and the EU Czech Presidency, Reding said. If parliament approves it, states must adopt it into national law by 2010, while the new regulatory authority, the Body of European Regulators in Electronic Communications, will become effective this summer, she said. With Europe’s telecom sector producing 300 billion euros in revenue, Reding said, the legislation will provide a “stable legal framework” for future industry growth.

Continued feuding over service termination shouldn’t -- scuttle the whole package but may, said a telecom industry source who has been tracking the legislation’s progress closely. Parliament’s major parties appear to be holding firm in support of the measure despite the lack of agreement on Internet access cut-off, and many believe the fact that a compromise has already been made with governments means the legislation shouldn’t be held up further, the source said.

If the measure passes in its current form, there’s a strong presumption that the Council and EC will support it, the source said. If there are major changes Wednesday on the cutoff amendment, everything’s back in play, he said.