EU regulators said in May they were analysing the question of whether tech giants Alphabet's Google, Meta, and Netflix should shoulder some of the costs of upgrading telecoms networks and it appears the move has the backing of at least three  EU governments.

In a joint paper, a copy of which was seen by Reuters, the three governments said the six largest content providers accounted for 55 per cent of Internet traffic.

"This generates specific costs for European telecom operators in terms of capacity, at a time they are already hugely investing in the most costly parts of the networks with 5G and Fiber-To-The-Home," the document said.

 It urged that European telecom networks and large online content providers pay fair shares of network costs.

"We call for a legislative proposal... ensuring all market players contribute to digital infrastructure costs," the document said.

Two Italian government officials confirmed details of the joint document. One of them said Rome's government was set to give informal support in its caretaking capacity ahead of a general election in September.

According to a study released by telecoms lobbying group ETNO earlier this year, an annual contribution of €20 billion to network costs by the tech giants could give a €72 billion boost to the EU economy.

Digital rights activists have warned making Big Tech pay for networks could threaten EU net neutrality rules, which they feared could be watered down to pacify what would be several very angry wealthy US businesses.

Any legislative proposal should "ensure fairness between users in accordance with the net neutrality rules, which is a core principle we absolutely need to preserve," the joint document said.