An almost absolute consensus on the importance of preserving the openness of the Internet, this was the main outcome of a public consultation launched by the European Commission (EC) on 30 June 2010 on the open Internet and its neutrality, which received contributions from 318 stakeholders, including the Body of European Regulators for Electronic Communications (BEREC), operators, Internet service providers, authorities of member states, consumer organisations and civil society, as well as individuals.
The vast majority of participants in the consultation, which closed on 30 September, considers that the regulatory framework for electronic communications adopted in 2009 provides the basic tools to answer questions of network neutrality, and that traffic management is a necessary and essential part to the operation of a secure and efficient network.
In turn, BEREC warned of potential discrimination issues likely to have anti-competitive effects and potential consequences in the longer term for the Internet economy in terms of innovation and freedom of expression. He also warned to the uncertainty of consumers due to the lack of transparency.
Several answerers also showed concern about the possibility of new types of Internet businesses likely to cause future problems associated with network neutrality.
These issues were debated on 11 November at the summit devoted to network neutrality, in which a report was discussed by the Commission and the European Parliament and presented by the EC on the subject.
Further information:
- Results of public consultation on open internet and net neutrality http://ec.europa.eu/information_society/policy/ecomm/library/public_consult/net_neutrality/index_en.htm
