Neutrality across the ICT value-chain: from Networks to Platforms – WS 03 2014

Session title: From Network Neutrality to Platform Neutrality?

Session subject: This session will focus on the ongoing efforts aimed at safeguarding the “network neutrality” principle at the European level, while investigating the concept of “platform neutrality”.

Session description: Over the last 15 years, a heterogeneity of Internet intermediaries such as Internet Service Providers (ISPs) and online platforms have emerged as Internet points of control. On the one hand, ISPs have acquired the capability to manage Internet traffic through a variety of techniques and research conducted by the Body of European Regulators for Electronic Communications (BEREC) has clearly demonstrated that traffic management may be implemented to discriminate against specific content, applications, devices or users.

To this extent, it may be argued that ISPs are consolidating a position of gatekeepers, due to their technical capabilities to control access to online contents, applications and services. Such a control has the potential to jeopardise network neutrality and Internet openness, which play an instrumental role in fostering the free flow of information, media pluralism and a competitive market. For this reason net neutrality regulatory frameworks have been adopted and proposed in order to define “rules of the road” for ISPs.

On the other hand, the concept of “platform neutrality” has been increasingly debated and considered as instrumental to allow both new (e.g. blogs) and established (e.g. broadcasters) journalistic content suppliers to play their crucial role in modern democracies, thus independently contributing to the citizens’ forming of political will.

This session will ignite discussion pertaining to the challenges and opportunities determined by network neutrality and platform neutrality, analysing the role that such concepts play in order to further end-users’ fundamental rights and foster a competitive online market.

Particularly, the panel will interrogate such questions as: (i) Can better connectivity to specific content, applications and services be in the interest of end-users? (ii) In order to maintain and develop a free and open Internet, which are the minimum requirements in terms of¬ network access, traffic exchange as well as peering agreements amongst different networks? (iii) What are “specialised services” and how can they be implemented? (iv) What do we mean when we speak about “platform neutrality” and how does this concept relate to the provision of diverse online content and the prevention of monopolistic behaviours? (v) Do we need regulation or can the market alone provide adequate solutions?

People:

• Focal point: Luca Belli, CERSA, Université Panthéon-Assas, Paris 2
• Live moderator: tbd
• Rapporteur: tbd
• Remote participation moderator: tbd
• Digital facilitator: Hauke
• Panelists/speakers: (suggested list of panelist/speakers) tbc
• Participants: tbc

Format of this working group at EuroDIG: Workshop. tbd

Protocol. Discussions: See the discussion tab on the upper left side of this page

Further reading:

Live stream / remote participation: Link

Final report from working group: PDF (approx. 2 weeks after event)

Mailing List: tbc

Preparatory meetings:

• date (venue)
• link (online)

Pictures from working group: Link

Session tags:

Session twitter hashtag: