Zero-rating and prioritization in Europe during the Covid-19 pandemic: a Rawlsian perspective on net neutrality

Highlights

• The Covid-19 pandemic brought the Internet neutrality further up on the list of the most important public debates

• The European Union has one of the strictest interpretations of the net neutrality (NN) principle

• We reexamined zero-rating (ZR) and prioritization (PR) through the perspective of the social contract theory of John Rawls

• We propose a provisio to the standard European Internet regulation, allowing ZR and PR in specific contexts

Abstract

In recent years two business practices, namely zero-rating (ZR) and prioritization (PR), have been widely discussed and debated. The debate is mostly built around the idea that these two practices violate the so-called net neutrality (NN) principle, which requires that all Internet data packages are treated equally. There is no unanimous consensus among scholars about NN and the adopted regulations are heterogeneous across countries, variable over time, and often contentious. In any case, the current judgements and regulations do not take into consideration exceptional circumstances, like the Covid-19 pandemic, in which an Internet connection becomes essential to carry on fundamental socio-economic activities. Focusing on the European case, in this paper we claim that, in a context such as a global pandemic, the practices of ZR and PR have to be re-examined. We do so through the perspective of the social contract theory developed by John Rawls. Our main conclusion is that, during a conjunctural crisis, where an Internet connection becomes an essential tool, ZR and PP should both be allowed. Our contribution goes towards the direction of adding a provisio to the standard European Internet regulation, allowing ZR and PR in specific contexts.