The internet is without a doubt the most advanced means of human communication. The principle of net neutrality, which we hear often in recent days, especially after the recent events in the United States, is one of the fundamental principles of the architecture of the internet.
Net Neutrality History
On the internet, at least as it began to operate, all circulating information is treated equally and indiscriminately.
This specific principle is what has prevented the concentration of control of the internet in state or private decision-making centers until now. This has ensured the open nature of the medium of communication in terms of the unhindered exercise of freedom of expression and information, as well as innovation.
As Tim Berners Lee has written , the principle of net neutrality prevents any serious threat of control of the information flow by any companies whose goal is profit.
Net Neutrality: Controversy
In recent years, however, we have witnessed a debate about whether to preserve or undo the openness of the internet. Conflicts of interest and openness are raging on both sides of the Atlantic.
Opposing the principle of net neutrality are free market advocates, who argue that only by abolishing neutrality will social benefits and innovation be maximized.
Supporters of net neutrality include various consumer advocates, human rights organizations such as Article 19,and some technology companies. Several major internet application companies support net neutrality: eBay, Amazon, and IAC/InterActiveCorp. Microsoft, Twitter, Tumblr, Etsy, Daily Kos, Greenpeace, along with many other companies and organizations, have also adopted a stance in favor of net neutrality. Cogent Communications, an international internet service provider, made a statement in favor of certain net neutrality policies.
In 2008, Google released a statement targeting broadband providers who seek to abuse their market power to influence access to competing applications or content. However, Google's support for net neutrality was questioned in 2014 as a very hypocritical statement, due to the company's behaviors.
Many civil rights groups, such as the ACLU, the Electronic Frontier Foundation, Free Press, and Fight for the Future, support net neutrality.
Opponents of net neutrality rules include economists, Internet service providers, and technologists. Among the companies, opponents include: Comcast, AT&T, Verizon, IBM, Intel, Cisco, Nokia, Qualcomm, Broadcom, Juniper, D-Link, Wintel, Alcatel-Lucent, Corning, Panasonic, Ericsson, and others. Notable technologists who oppose net neutrality include Marc Andreessen, Scott McNealy, Peter Thiel, David Farber, Nicholas Negroponte, Rajeev Suri, Jeff Pulver, John Perry Barlow, and Bob Kahn.
Open internet
Under an “open Internet” scheme, all Internet resources and the means to operate them should be readily accessible to all individuals, businesses, and organizations. Applicable concepts include: net neutrality, open standards, transparency, lack of censorship on the Internet, and low barriers to entry. The concept of an open Internet is sometimes expressed as an expectation of decentralized technological power and is seen by some observers as closely related to open source software.
Non-Open Internet
The problems with the repeal of net neutrality are many. Your provider will be able to approve which services you can use (Skype, WhatsApp, Messenger), what content you can watch (ERT Digital, YouTube or Netflix), which websites you can visit (Facebook, Twitter or Pinterest), and what equipment you can buy.
All of these practices eliminate all digital freedoms and rights, and give excessive power to Internet providers, who will be able to distort competition and services.
Net Neutrality: What's happening in Greece
Net Neutrality can be legally protected, although in the US, for now and with the Trump administration, Net Neutrality is history.
In October 2015, the European Parliament adopted the basic principles of Net Neutrality in Regulation 2015/2120, which is binding for the entire European Union and therefore also for Greece.
The regulation unfortunately has some "loopholes", and the details of its implementation had to be determined by each national government and local regulatory authorities by April 2016.
Thus, EU Regulation 2015/2120 is the current regulation on "Net Neutrality" in the EU.
EETT, on the other hand, is the national regulatory authority that oversees the electronic communications market in Greece, and will prepare annual reports, which will be communicated to the Commission and the Body of European Regulators BEREC.
Its first report, 2016-2017, records the actions and measurement tools available for monitoring the performance of Greek networks, as well as data resulting from responses to special questionnaires addressed to providers, as well as from the complaints it has received from consumers.
EETT's first conclusions
According to EETT, in the field of network performance monitoring, special attention needs to be paid to the very low percentage of the nominal speed achieved in fixed networks, which creates the appearance of inconsistency between the advertised and actual speed.
EETT also identified "certain cases of deliberate traffic degradation of selected applications" that require further investigation, as according to the Regulation there must be equal treatment of traffic and any differentiation must be based on objective requirements of the various types of traffic.
Information from EETT on the decisions of the 32nd Plenary Session of BEREC
From the above, it can be seen that although the principles of net neutrality are legally acceptable in their entirety by the EU, and consequently by Greece, the task of ensuring them is not that feasible, due to lack of infrastructure (measurement tools) or even contradictions and loopholes in the Law itself.
The Greek Constitution provides that everyone has the right to participate in the information society, and facilitating access to information circulated electronically, as well as its production, exchange and dissemination, is an obligation of the State (5A § 2 S).
In the event that the internet service provider you use offers you a quantitatively or qualitatively inferior internet access service than that referred to in your contract, or if it limits access to online services, applications or content, you have the right to file a complaint with EETT and seek compensation in court.
PS: I have personally contacted EETT twice, without any impressive result.
Of course, we should mention, if we want to be fair, that today's internet, although called an open internet, does not seem to meet the conditions that define neutrality. On the one hand, providers and on the other hand, large internet companies and secret services of every color, make an open and neutral internet a utopia.
At least they're keeping up the pretense, until the next Snowden..
