---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: La Quadrature du Net <[email protected]> Date: Tue, Mar 18, 2014 at 5:11 AM Subject: [opennetcoalition] Net Neutrality: Dangerous Loopholes Remain After Key Vote by Lead EU Parliament Committee To: [email protected] Themes: NET NEUTRALITY, EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT, EUROPEAN SINGLE MARKET FOR ELECTRONIC COMMUNICATIONS, INDUSTRY COMMITTEE, PILAR DEL CASTILLO VERA, JENS ROHDE, CATHERINE TRAUTMANN, NEELIE KROES La Quadrature du Net - For immediate release Permanent link: https://www.laquadrature.net/en/net-neutrality-dangerous-loopholes-remain-af... Net Neutrality: Dangerous Loopholes Remain After Key Vote by Lead EU Parliament Committee *** Brussels, 18 March 2014 -- The "Industry" (ITRE) committee has just adopted its report on the Telecom Regulation and Net Neutrality. Despite improvements - especially in comparison with Neelie Kroes' proposal [1] -, the committee and its rapporteur, Pilar del Castillo Vera, bowed to the pressure [2] of the telecom lobby, and major loopholes remain in the text. If the Internet as we know it is to be protected from the rent-seeking behaviour of big corporations dominating the digital economy, these loopholes must be closed during the European Parliament vote in plenary session on 3 April. *** "Today's vote is a sign of the massive lobbying influence of big telecom operators over the European legislative process. The regulation's big loopholes will have to be corrected when the European Parliament casts its final vote in a few weeks. The many MEPs who have proposed constructive amendments at the committee stage now have an opportunity to table new amendments across party lines so as to ensure that the general interest prevails over the short-term commercial interests of the telecom industry." said Miriam Artino, legal and policy analyst at La Quadrature du Net. "What is at stake in this regulation is no less than the fate of the Internet commons. Are we going to let big telecom operators and Internet giants dictate the terms of the digital economy or will lawmakers adopt strong binding principles making sure that the Internet remains a decentralized platform for freedom of communication and innovation, where citizens and new entrants can challenge entrenched players? This is the crucial question that will soon be addressed through the upcoming plenary vote, and one that citizens should ask to their elected representative in Brussels ahead of the upcoming EU elections" concludes Félix Tréguer, co-founder of La Quadrature du Net. * References * 1. https://www.laquadrature.net/en/kroes-unacceptable-anti-net-neutrality-law-r... 2. https://www.laquadrature.net/en/ft-telecoms-groups-blast-eu-net-neutrality-p... 3. http://www.savetheinternet.eu/ 4. http://wepromise.eu/ ** About La Quadrature du Net ** La Quadrature du Net is an advocacy group that defends the rights and freedoms of citizens on the Internet. More specifically, it advocates for the adaptation of French and European legislations to respect the founding principles of the Internet, most notably the free circulation of knowledge. In addition to its advocacy work, the group also aims to foster a better understanding of legislative processes among citizens. Through specific and pertinent information and tools, La Quadrature du Net hopes to encourage citizens' participation in the public debate on rights and freedoms in the digital age. La Quadrature du Net is supported by French, European and international NGOs including the Electronic Frontier Foundation, the Open Society Institute and Privacy International. List of supporting organisations: https://www.laquadrature.net/en/they-support-la-quadrature-du-net ** Press contact and press room ** [email protected], +33 (0) 972 294 426 https://www.laquadrature.net/en/press-room _______________________________________________ Opennetcoalition mailing list [email protected] https://laquadrature.net/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/opennetcoalition -- *Please note an intrusion wiped out my inbox on February 8; I have no record of previous communication, proposals, etc ..* P2P Foundation: http://p2pfoundation.net - http://blog.p2pfoundation.net <http://lists.ourproject.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/p2p-foundation>Updates: http://twitter.com/mbauwens; http://www.facebook.com/mbauwens #82 on the (En)Rich list: http://enrichlist.org/the-complete-list/