| NOTAS: | "Following the spread of traffic management techniques by internet service providers (ISPs), net neutrality has gained considerable prominence around the world and become a hotly debated topic. This is particularly true in the EU where countries are navigating the best way to interpret the EU net-neutrality rules, while also trying to take note of national circumstances. Subsequently, it has been appearing on many regulators' agendas, due to their concerns that the practice might limit competition and innovation, which could in turn harm the consumer.
While net-neutrality policies have been in place in many EU member states prior to the introduction of the EC's rules in 2016, the regulatory model chosen has varied quite widely from country to country. Self-regulation, the approach that had up until recently been adopted in Denmark, Sweden, and the UK, involves industry stakeholders establishing a code of conduct among themselves. Co-regulation, as adopted in Norway, involves regulators taking a more active role, working in conjunction with industry stakeholders toward a clearly defined set of guidelines. Others, such as Slovenia (2015) and the Netherlands (2014), have taken a fairly prescriptive regulatory approach. The challenge now will be for EU member states to work toward a more consistent approach across the region following the guidance from the EC." |
