The EU Views on Net Neutrality for the Coming ITU Meeting

      

While ISPs in EU countries are using traffic shaping and DPI (see "BEREC: 'traffic management and differentiation practices are capable of being used for questionable purposes'" - here and "BEREC: Blocking/throttling P2P and VoIP with DPI is Frequently Done in Europe" - here) the European Parliament thinks that the world should be a better place, and expects the UN to lead that.

The Parliament published a decision related to the coming ITU meeting in Dubai from 3 to 14 December 2012, in view of its "resolution on the open internet and net neutrality in Europe" [see "EU is Getting Closer to Net Neutrality" - here].

Among other things:

• Calls on the Council and the Commission to ensure that any changes to the International Telecommunication Regulations are compatible with the EU acquis and further the Union’s objective of, and interest in, advancing the internet as a truly public place ..
   
• Believes that the ITU, or any other single, centralised international institution, is not the appropriate body to assert regulatory authority over either internet governance or internet traffic flows ..
   
• Is concerned that the ITU reform proposals include the establishment of new profit mechanisms that could seriously threaten the open and competitive nature of the internet, driving up prices, hampering innovation and limiting access; recalls that the internet should remain free and open; See "European ISPs Suggest New Internet Business Models" - here and  "ITU to Review QoS and Traffic Management vs. Net Neutrality" - here. 

See "European Parliament resolution on the forthcoming World Conference on International Telecommunications (WCIT-2012) of the International Telecommunications Union, and the possible expansion of the scope of international telecommunication regulations" - here.