As long-suffering readers of this column will know, I've been following for a while the winding road leading to the European Commission's proposals regarding net neutrality in Europe. Along the way, there have been many twists and turns, with hints of first one direction, then another. But today, the Commission has finally released its plans - not just for this area, but for the whole telecoms market in Europe:
The Commission today adopted major regulatory proposals to complete the telecoms single market and deliver a Connected Continent. The overarching aim is to build a connected, competitive continent and enabling sustainable digital jobs and industries; making life better by ensuring consumers can enjoy the digital devices and services they love; and making it easier for European businesses & entrepreneurs to create the jobs of the future
«The only way to prevent this kind of lock-in is to insist that full net neutrality be enshrined in EU law. That doesn't mean that lower-cost options can't be offered, only that they, too, must treat all IP packets equally, with no discrimination against particular sites, particular programs or particular services. And this isn't about "telling you what sort of Internet services you must pay for", but about ensuring that there is a level playing-field where all can compete fairly - something that increasingly isn't the case today.»
«Net neutrality is one of those areas that most people are vaguely in favour of, without giving it much thought. Governments take advantage of this to make sympathetic noises while doing precisely nothing to preserve it. For example, following a UK consultation on net neutrality two years ago, Ofcom came out with a very wishy-washy statement that basically said we think net neutrality is a jolly good idea but we won't actually do anything to protect it.»
«The use of DPI to implement traffic shaping is another compelling reason to insist on net neutrality. If not, the danger is that DPI will be justified on the grounds that it is needed to manage traffic, and then the logic will be that since ISPs have DPI at their disposal it could also be used for certain "limited" purposes - you know, the usual "just to catch terrorists and paedophiles" argument - after which it would be generalised to check the legality of all content flowing through your connection (although the European Court of Justice might have something to say about that, luckily...)»