Carrier neutrality under threat online

In the early days of the internet, talk of its potential and impact on society was overwhelmingly positive. Information would flow freely. Decisions would be more informed. Enlightenment would reach more people. Shrinking distances would contribute to greater respect and understanding for others. And enlightened, liberal democracy would be strengthened and spread to all corners of the world through the internet.

Now it didn't quite work out that way. For better or worse, the internet has proved phenomenal at challenging the establishment and established ideas. It has given the resource-poor a platform, the opportunity to take up space, challenge and organize themselves. But it has also given undemocratic forces, organized crime and terrorist organizations powerful tools. The internet is also borderless by nature, which has created major headaches for national legislators and authorities who have to regulate and oversee what happens within their own jurisdiction.

Authorities restrict mobility in the digital environment

It is obvious to everyone that legislation and the justice system also need to function on the internet. And this is where things get complicated. Because opinions on how differ widely. A popular approach when legislators have perceived themselves as toothless has been to try to restrict communication to and from what is perceived as undesirable. Internet service providers are being ordered by the courts to block their users' traffic. Internet platforms are proposed to be required to pre-screen their users' material. And so on. These measures may sound reasonable. Yet the idea that legislators can simply block out problems is spreading like wildfire.

For example, since the beginning of the year, the Swedish Gambling Authority has the right to order internet service providers to redirect their users' traffic to a warning message if they try to access a gambling site that is not licensed by a Swedish authority. And next year, new EU rules will give the Swedish Consumer Agency, the Swedish Medical Products Agency and the Swedish Financial Supervisory Authority the same powers.

All in all, an increasingly dense web is being spun around the companies that deliver what we know today as a free and open internet. The European Parliament elections are coming up and a new European Commission will be appointed. More and more people are now calling for the so-called e-commerce directive, which regulates the responsibilities of internet service providers, to be opened up and for them to take greater responsibility for the content of their traffic.

What would increased accountability for what users do on their networks do for what we now call a free and open internet? This might be the most important and relevant question you, as a voter, should ask the parties and candidates for the European Parliament elections you are considering voting for.