Net neutrality, telemedicine and intelligent transportation systems

19.3.2015

Question for written answer E-004461-15
to the Commission
Rule 130
Julia Reda (Verts/ALE)

Net neutrality refers to a principle by which Internet service providers must not discriminate among Internet traffic by means of prioritisation, degradation or blocking. The Taliban is a fundamentalist militant group responsible for the death of thousands of civilians. In a debate of 5 March 2015, Commissioner Günther Oettinger referred to the demand for net neutrality as ‘Taliban-like’.

Can the Commission specifically name the products (and their respective manufacturers) which currently exist in the European market and whose technical specifications rely on the absence of enforced net neutrality rules in the EU?

Can it name specifically every single hospital in the EU and its specific telemedicine products and applications which rely on real-time broadband Internet connections, and whose technical specifications rely on the absence of enforced net neutrality rules in the EU?

Can it name specifically every single intelligent transportation system — including, for example, car-mounted impact warning systems and vehicle and transportation security devices — whose performance relies on real-time Internet access and whose technical specifications rely on the absence of enforced net neutrality rules in the EU?