THE INTERNET AS YOU KNOW IT IS UNDER SIEGE. In a SHOCKING power grab, global telecom giants are exploiting a new EU law to SHAKE DOWN Silicon Valley, and South Africa is being primed to follow. The so-called “Fair Share” debate is NOT over—it’s a TROJAN HORSE for a new digital tax that could SKYROCKET your data costs and KILL online freedom.
While Europe’s Digital Networks Act didn’t impose an outright fee, it UNLEASHED the wolves. ACT CEO Nomvuyiso Batyi, representing Vodacom, MTN, and Telkom, is now DEMANDING South African regulators force “negotiations” between networks and tech giants like Netflix and YouTube. This is CODE for a shakedown. The telecoms, who already PROFIT from your data subscriptions, want a SECOND PAYCHECK from the very services you use.
“The EU has done the work… In South Africa that homework is yet to be handed in,” Batyi stated, revealing a chilling blueprint for local action. This isn’t about fairness; it’s a DESPERATE CASH GRAB by an old industry threatened by innovation. Critics warn this “voluntary conciliation” is a SMOKESCREEN for future mandatory fees, allowing dominant telcos to extract UNJUSTIFIED billions and cement their control.
Imagine a world where YOUR Netflix subscription fee soars because the app must pay a “toll” to reach you. Picture startups and free speech CRUSHED under new carriage fees. This is the dystopian future “Fair Share” architects are quietly building. The EU left the door WIDE OPEN, and South Africa’s most powerful telecom lobby is now KICKING IT IN.
This isn’t regulation—it’s a DECLARATION OF WAR on the open internet, and you will pay the price on every single bill. The question is no longer if they will come for your favorite services, but how much they will make you bleed for them.
Edited for Kayitsi.com
Author: Kayitsi.com
