The Court of Justice of the European Union’s First Judgment on Network Neutrality Principles: A Case Study of Zero-Rating Practices
Keywords:
network neutrality, zero-rating practices, telecommunications, Court of Justice of the European UnionAbstract
This article aims to investigate the principles of net neutrality and zero-rating, analyze the Court of Justice of the European Union’s (CJEU) first judgment, and provide Thailand’s current situation on the issue. This paper uses a documentary research methodology.
The research findings revealed that zero-rating favored some consumers or content providers, and interfered with network neutrality principles that emphasize non-discrimination in Internet access. The mobile zero-rated Internet packages allowing customers to use specific applications and services without any restrictions, without deducting from the purchased data volume, once this data volume is used up, there are measures that block or slow down Internet traffic to other applications and services. The CJEU ruled that this practice was against the net neutrality law. In Thailand, the telecommunications sector which was concentrated by large influential competitors due to mergers among telecommunications and broadband Internet providers, directly led to some negative impacts on small competitors and consumers. In terms of recommendations, Thailand’s telecommunications regulator should encourage in-depth research on net neutrality and zero-rating practices to deal with any potential controversy the industry may encounter.
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