Telecom operators are pushing the European Union to implement new legal guidelines that may make Big Tech pay for community prices, following Australia’s instance, in response to 4 sources near the matter.

Europe’s telecoms operators have lobbied for a monetary contribution from US tech companies comparable to Alphabet’s Google, Meta’s Facebook and Netflix, saying that they use an enormous a part of the area’s web visitors.

The newest proposal, which hasn’t been reported, is being mentioned inside the telecoms foyer group GSMA, an affiliation that represents greater than 750 cellular operators.

“GSMA is coordinating a proposal that speaks to Big Tech contribution to European infrastructure investment,” mentioned John Giusti, GSMA’s chief regulatory officer, with out elaborating on the content material of the proposal.

A letter shall be despatched to EU business chief Thierry Breton within the subsequent 5 to 6 weeks, Giusti mentioned.

Google, Facebook, Netflix, Amazon didn’t instantly reply to requests for remark.

The proposal comes forward of the 27-country bloc’s session on a so-called “fair share” contribution from the likes of Google, Netflix, Meta and Amazon, which account for greater than half of the web visitors.

These platforms dismiss the concept and think about it an web visitors tax.

Australia’s recently-adopted legal guidelines in its personal spat with Google and Facebook have emerged because the most-favoured weapon for telecoms operators of their dispute with Big Tech corporations, the sources mentioned.

The guidelines, first geared toward compelling tech giants to pay for information content material on-line, permit an Australian government-appointed arbitrator to set charges if Big Tech corporations and information publishers fail to discover a frequent floor over copyright.

Rupert Murdoch’s News reached final yr a content-supply cope with Meta’s Facebook in Australia underneath the foundations, serving to to place an finish to a dispute that noticed the social media large briefly shut down hundreds of pages within the nation.

Under Australia’s binding so-called “final-offer arbitration”, the events have to barter in good religion. But if a deal cannot be struck between them, they must current their provides and defer to an arbitrator to decide on one.

The purpose is to encourage tech giants and information publishers to achieve an settlement earlier than being compelled to go for this final resort process.

The telecoms operators which might be a part of GSMA, together with a few of Europe’s largest comparable to Orange, Deutsche Telekom and Telefonica agree that the Australian means is the very best method, the sources mentioned.

No formal doc has but been despatched to Breton, the sources mentioned. Officials are discussing whether or not the proposal shall be made straight by the GSMA or from a bunch of chief executives, one of many sources mentioned.

Breton has mentioned he’ll search suggestions from either side earlier than drafting laws.

© Thomson Reuters 2022