Europe Net Neutrality Win Continues Global String of Victories for the Open Internet
WASHINGTON — On Tuesday, the Body of European Regulators for Electronic Communications (BEREC) published guidelines ensuring that the region’s internet users receive strong protections for open and nondiscriminatory access to the internet.
According to the guidelines (available here), internet users have the right to access and distribute information and content, use and provide applications and services, and use access devices of their choosing to connect with any other person, device or service on the network.
The guidelines ensure that EU member countries will enact national Net Neutrality rules that are consistent across the region. BEREC published a draft of the guidelines in June that was followed by a six-week public consultation period during which more than 500,000 people commented, the vast majority supporting strong Net Neutrality protections.
Today’s publication is a final step in the three-year process to adopt a Net Neutrality standard marked by broadband-industry efforts to weaken the proposed rules. It supersedes a 2013 legislative proposal by the European Commission that left open loopholes for content discrimination and throttling by access providers.
Free Press Senior Director of Strategy Timothy Karr made the following statement:
“Internet users have fought and won Net Neutrality protections in India, South America and the United States. Europe’s decision today — heeding the advice of internet users who favor robust safeguards for the open internet — is an essential part of this global push to advance the online rights of everyone.
“Europeans have good reason to celebrate today. But they must remain vigilant to ensure regulators enforce the rules keeping the best interests of internet users in mind. Online gatekeepers never give up. Despite last year’s Net Neutrality victory in the United States, telecommunications companies have spared no expense on efforts to bend the rules in their favor and weaken enforcement.
“This victory is a credit to the sleeves-up outreach and organizing of groups like European Digital Rights, SavetheInternet.eu and Access Now, which helped mobilize the region’s overwhelming public response in support of Net Neutrality.”
