SaveTheInternet.eu – the EU vote on net neutrality tomorrow
savetheinternet.eu
savetheinternet.eu
For example, this site says:
> The current definition of "specialized service" (Article 2.15) increases costs and risk to internet users, and must be changed or deleted.
However, if you look at the actual definition in the bill [1], this has already been taken care of:
> (15) "specialised service" means an electronic communications service or any other service that provides the capability to access specific content, applications or services, or a combination thereof, and whose technical characteristics are controlled from end-to-end or provides the capability to send or receive data to or from a determined number of parties or endpoints; and that is not marketed or widely used as a substitute for internet access service;
(Emphasis is my own.)
Similar arguments can be used for the rest of the sites' points. To be clear, I'm all for net neutrality, in fact, as a student I've personally benefited from this enormously. But it's unfair to say this bill is "threatening internet freedom". Rather, it seems like a big step forwards for consumers and telecom companies alike.
[1] - http://ec.europa.eu/information_society/newsroom/cf/dae/docu...
I'm no lawyer, but it sounds like a VOD service controlled by an ISP would qualify.
I suppose the good thing about Euro-politics is that, even though many citizens don't seem to care about what Brussels and Strasbourg do, that means MEPs are more likely to listen when people do voice their concern.
Not all MPs have contact information filled in though.
I always had a problem finding someone to email playing Russian roulette until i find one is slightly easier.
Well, you've certainly found the most badass way to get in contact with a politician -- not sure how effective it is over the long term though...
Nonetheless, I also find it slightly frustrating that they didn't include country-matching or at least a language preference setting. After all, the MEP might be more inclined to listen to me if I'm one of their constituents (or if I am at least able to communicate with them).
This is something I don't quite understand at EU level.
In the UK, there is a convention that MPs only act for and respond to their own constituents. Randomly e-mailing the MP for somewhere else is extremely unlikely to achieve anything useful at all.
I don't know whether the European Parliament has a similar convention, but even if not, it's hard to see why a random MEP is -- or should be -- swayed in their position by representations from anyone other than the voters to whom they are responsible.
I don't understand why anyone would ever advocate lobbying anyone but their own representatives. Does this actually achieve anything at EU level?
We think that our representatives need more information, so we educate them. But, as much as I think that is true, at the end of the day they'll vote along their party line, no matter if we educate them or not.
We're fighting with words (educating), big business with money (buying lobbyists). And they are prepared to ruin their vocal opponents, even drive them towards suicide (Aaron Swartz).
Sorry for being pessimistic.
Although there is hope.
Fuck the EU, btw.
I am sick of the EU Commission - they need constant supervision and try everything to ruin our freedoms in favor of coporatism. The EU needs to end. It can't be controlled democratly.
> While we welcome the intention to enshrine net neutrality into law across the EU, the proposal fails to deliver the promise of net neutrality as it contains several problematic loopholes. However, the text itself is not far off the mark. With the right improvements, the European Union could have binding net neutrality legislation. The proposal is now in hands of the Parliament and will be reviewed by several committees, with the Industry, Research and Energy (ITRE) committee as the lead in charge of this dossier. The modifications introduced in some committees have regrettably worsened the problems in the Commission proposal.
(http://www.savetheinternet.eu/#regulation, emphasis mine)
Also not sure what the relation is between your basic assertion that the EU commission is bad and the EU itself needing to end.
The EU distanced itself so far from it's citizens, most topics things don't reach the people here and this "regulation" is the best example.
The EU is not democratic at all. The parliament members can't even propose new legislations and EU laws are not always compatible with nation constitutions which renders it's purpose close to illegitimate.
Instead we have a far away bunch of "politicians" or better "soldiers" ready to legitimate everything with enough money and power.
But the EU as a political system is flawed!
It's not a matter of questionable members of the commission, but that the parliament, those citizens being elected by us, is just an appendix. Actually it's status reminds me of the GDR or china.
Please inform yourself about the ongoing free trade negotiations in which no MEP is involved.