OTI Applauds Net Neutrality Win in Europe
Press Release
Aug. 30, 2016
Today the Body of European Regulators of Electronic Communication (BEREC) published final guidelines on net neutrality, establishing a framework for Open Internet protections in every EU member state. BEREC — the European Union’s leading telecom authority — was tasked with creating the net neutrality guidelines after the European Parliament enacted a new telecommunications law in October 2015. New America’s Open Technology Institute (OTI) filed comments last month urging the EU to resist industry calls to weaken the guidelines and to enact a robust regime that protects net neutrality in Europe.
The following statement can be attributed to Joshua Stager, policy counsel for New America’s Open Technology Institute:
“Today is a victory for net neutrality in Europe. BEREC was under intense pressure from ISPs to enact weak, loophole-ridden rules, but today’s guidance shows that BEREC resisted that pressure. We are especially pleased that the guidelines include strong protections for interconnection, the traffic-exchange points that are vulnerable to ISP manipulation. The guidelines also establish a good starting point to evaluate zero rating schemes.
However, the fight for European net neutrality continues. Internet freedom supporters must remain vigilant in ensuring that the rules remain strong—particularly as BEREC’s guidelines are implemented by EU member states. We look forward to continuing to work with European regulators, internet users, and innovators as this implementation moves forward.”