Net Neutrality

Part of the debate – in Westminster Hall at 4:13 pm on 5 April 2011.

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Photo of Ed Vaizey Ed Vaizey The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport 4:13, 5 April 2011

It is a delight to serve under your chairmanship this afternoon, Mr Gale. I participated in a Westminster Hall debate with you only this morning and I think that this is the second of three debates that I will be responding to in Westminster Hall today. I gather that my colleague the Under-Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, my hon. Friend Mr Davey, has responded to the other two debates in Westminster Hall today, so we are slightly monopolising the time here.

I congratulate my hon. Friend Mr Raab on securing this debate. He said that it was his first Adjournment debate and that he was sitting on the “wrong” side of Westminster Hall; although he is sitting opposite me, we are in effect on the same side.

I also welcome the contribution of my hon. Friend Dr Lee in standing up for his constituents who established Foundem. In what is an extraordinary “David and Goliath” story, those constituents have managed to get the European Commission to investigate allegations of anti-competitive behaviour by Google.

I should say at the start that I am extremely sympathetic to what my hon. Friends have set out in terms of their principles. If I can take, as it were, a philosophical approach—although it might be unhelpful for a Minister to take such an approach—there is no reason why any organisation should be exempt from the competition rules simply because it exists on the internet.

We could all reel off a list of companies that are, in effect, the dominant providers on the internet and from which we purchase our books, our groceries or our consumer goods, or from which we access search facilities or other applications, because they have first-mover advantage. However, they certainly seem to have held on to that advantage for a significant amount of time. It is perfectly appropriate for the competition authorities, when appropriate and when a matter is referred to them, to look into those organisations.

However, one of the reasons why people feel that the internet is perhaps more competitive than the high street is that the barriers to entry are lower on the internet. If someone wants to set up a retailer providing a service, they do not have to go and buy land or rent property—or take on, say, the established supermarkets in trying to provide better products. The regulations are much lower for the internet and people can set up a website at very low cost.