A net neutrality revision has allowed European legislators to
implement long-awaited reforms that will introduce a single
competitive market in telecoms throughout the continent.
New,
watered-down text adopted in a conciliation process speaks of
the right to a "prior fair and impartial procedure" rather than a
court action, as well as the presumption of innocence in cases of
alleged illegal file-sharing.
Legislators had stalled over Amendment 138, which guaranteed
that subscribers would have unhindered access to and use of their
internet connections unless a court believed they were abusing the
facility.
Sources close to the law-making process say the new text appears
to allow the UK and French governments to persist with their
"
three strikes and you are out" policies to go after illegal
file-sharers.
La Quadrature du
Net, a net neutrality lobby organisation, said the new text
aimed at protecting internet access includes positive elements. "It
also contains ambiguous language and potential loopholes. This
rather unambitious provision will now be up for interpretation," it
said in a statement.
EU communications commissioner Viviane Reding welcomed the
agreement. "This internet freedom provision is unprecedented across
the globe and a strong signal that the EU takes fundamental rights
very seriously, in particular when it comes to the Information
Society," she said.
Reding said the compromise paved the way for a telecoms reform,
enhancing consumer rights and consumer choice in Europe's telecoms
markets, and adding new guarantees to ensure the openness and
neutrality of the internet.
"It will boost competition and investment in telecoms markets,
and open up airwaves for new mobile services, allowing internet
broadband for all Europeans," she said.