Save Net Neutrality!
Published on
Story by
Guillaume Médard
Newropeans signed the open letter to the European Parliament to Protect Net-neutrality. And we ask others to do the same thing at http://www.laquadrature.net/en/we-must-protect-net-neutrality-in-europe-open-letter-to-the-european-parliament.
“Organizations from all around Europe share their concern of seeing Net Neutrality being sacrificed during the conciliation procedure of the directives of the EU Telecoms Package.” These directives will be discussed in the coming days.
The open letter states: “Net neutrality is now under the threat of telecom operators and content industries that see business opportunities in discriminating, filtering or prioritizing information flowing through the network. All around Europe, these kinds of discriminatory practices, detrimental to both consumers and innovation, are emerging. No court or regulator seems to have adequate tools to counter this behaviour and protect the general interest. Some provisions introduced in the Telecoms Package could even encourage such practices.”
Newropeans think recent governmental, technological and corporation influence on web users’ rights have intensified the need for constitutional measures to protect the fundamental rights within the information society. We are strong supporters of the idea of a European Bill of digital rights, as declared in Tunis at the World Summit for Information Society 2005. These rights and principles should include, among others, privacy, data protection, freedom of expression, universal access, network neutrality, interoperability, global reachability of all Internet modes, the use of open formats and standards, public access to knowledge and the right to innovate. The same principles should later be applied to the next generation technologies that will replace the contemporary Internet.
Newropeans-Member Robert Cailliau (one of the founders of the www) wrote in Newropeans-Magazine
"We believe in the principle of net neutrality to preserve the benefits of the internet as a free and open technology fostering innovation, economic growth and democratic communication. Transfer of information should not be prioritized by the identity of its sender or its destination. The EU should stimulate neutral networks free of restrictions on content, sites or platforms, on the kinds of equipment that may be attached, and on the modes of communication allowed. A short-term regulatory solution should split responsibilities for content from those of transfer. ISPs are to be divided into IHPs (hosting) and ITPs (transfer). ITPs must treat all packets equally. Companies shall not provide both services. The middle-term goal is public municipal broadband infrastructure, like roads, sidewalks, and parks."
More information
Veronique Swinkels (vice president Newropeans) vswinkels @newropeans.eu 0031651572672
Reinder Rustema (specialist net neutrality) 0031621224775
Read more about Newropeans’ Information society policy
http://www.newropeans-magazine.org/content/view/9103/84/
http://interneteurope.pbworks.com/FrontPage