Recent Attacks against Net Neutrality: Why Telcos never learn

Net Neutrality is what sets the internet apart from telephony or television networks. Nevertheless, the issue has not gone quiet in recent years. Donald Trump has repealed net neutrality 2017 in the US, while in Europe digital commissioner Thierry Breton is fighting since 2022 alongside the big telcos against the free internet. In India, Brazil and South Korea, a battle is raging over the interconnection of networks. This nerdy principle became the law in many juristrictions around the world. The two people giving this workshop have worked on the isseu over many years. We will talk about the recent attacks against net neutrality in the form of network fees ("fair share" or german: "Leitungsschutzrecht"). There will also be time to talk about the global situation when it comes to Zero-Rating (e.g. StreamOn, Facebooks Free Basic, etc.). Lastly, the 5G hype will also be something we want to touch upon. This workshop gives an overview of the debate and talks about concrete ways in which hackers and activists can engage in the debate to keep the internet open. If you work in the inter-connection market, then this session might be particularly interesting to you. The workshop is held by Thomas Lohninger (epicenter.works) and Klaus Landefeld (DE-CIX). Both are native German speakers, but we will speak in English to do justice to this global topic.