Internet providers warn against EU plans to make Big Tech cover telcos costs

FILE PHOTO: European Union flags flutter outside the EU Commission headquarters in Brussels, Belgium, September 28, 2022. REUTERS/Yves Herman

LONDON (Reuters) - A group representing internet service providers across Europe said on Tuesday that a proposal to make Big Tech companies pay towards telecom operators' network costs could create systemic weakness in critical infrastructure.

Telecom operators have been pushing the European Union to implement new laws that would see U.S. tech firms like Alphabet’s Google, Meta’s Facebook, and Netflix bear some of the costs of Europe's telecoms network, arguing that they drive much of the region’s internet traffic.