Telekompaketet - Blackout Europe 31 mars

Subject: Telecoms regulation - online community concerns
Date: Thu, 26 Mar 2009 11:46:20 +0100
From: Erik Josefsson - kandidat till Europaparlamentet (v)

Dear Member of the IMCO/ITRE committee,

I write to you in my capacity as candidate to the European elections
2009 for the Swedish Left Party, and as member of an online community
following the Telecoms regulation very closely. I believe this community
represents the interests of citizens, consumers, developers, creators
and innovators, and I would like to take the opportunity to voice the
concerns I believe it has about the risks implicit in the Telecoms
regulation and the amendments proposed to it.

There are grave concerns that "new consumer options", diversification of
offers and traffic management policies are really about limitations and
prioritisation of content, services and applications, and that
competition policy rather than a consumer perspective will guide the
Parliament's decision process. There is outrage that users' rights are
not the starting point in this debate.

The information available about current negotiations on compromises
merging many different proposals gives this community no reason to worry
less, rather the opposite. There is frustration that previous calls have
passed unnoticed. Therefore I submit it is probable an upcoming rally
will focus on:

- demands for removal of all references to limitations, restrictions, or
conditions of use or access to content, services and applications

- demands for upholding the majority decisions on amendments 138 and 166
of the first reading concerning judicial oversight and the rights of
users to access content, services and applications

- demands for regulatory authorities, whether national or European, to
have sufficient powers to supervise and control policies and practices
relating to the rights of users and that undertakings' traffic
management is justifiable by valid technical reasons only

- demands for privacy protection and prohibition of "consent as a
pretext for profiling"

Many amendments which respond to these demands have been tabled in both
ITRE and IMCO. Here are some examples:

- IMCO amendment 111 which establishes a guarantee of connectivity for users
- IMCO amendments 109, 115 and 135 which seek to prevent discriminatory
practices on the networks
- IMCO amendments 106, 113, 114, 125, 129, 131 and , about disclosure,
transparency and giving the regulatory authority powers to deal with the
new type of situations.
- IMCO amendment 150 which make sure law is precise enough to uphold the
right to privacy
- ITRE amendments 148 and 149, 150 and 151, 166 and 167 which removes
the language of restrictions, limitations or conditions

As a reminder, please note, that amendment IMCO 166 is now numbered
72=146, and ITRE 138 is now 46=135.

I hope this mail will provide for a better understanding of the dynamics
of the interaction between the Parliament and the online community in
the second reading.

With my best regards,

Erik Josefsson