European network providers that want the United Nations to consider a new Internet tax targeting Google, Facebook, Apple, and Netflix today defended their proposal, which was leaked earlier this week.
The idea of requiring content providers to pay fees based on usage is an "innovative" change to the way the Internet currently works and will create a more "fair" environment "where operators' revenues will not be disconnected from the investment needs made necessary by the rapid growth of Internet traffic," the providers said in a statement (PDF).
Last night, CNET reported that the European Telecommunications Network Operators Association, or ETNO, a Brussels-based lobby group representing companies in 35 nations, proposed the idea for debate at a December meeting of a U.N. agency called the International Telecommunication Union. ETNO's members, which unanimously approved the idea, include Deutsche Telekom, France Telecom, Telecom Italia, Swisscom, and Spain's Telefonica.
While this is the first time this proposal been advanced, European network providers and phone companies have complained bitterly about U.S. content providers for some time. France Telecom, Telecom Italia, and Vodafone Group want to "require content providers like Apple and Google to pay fees linked to usage," Bloombergreported last December.