[P2P-F] Fwd: [opennetcoalition] Open Letter To The Council Of The European Union on Net Neutrality

Thu Oct 2 15:57:34 CEST 2014

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: La Quadrature du Net <contact at laquadrature.net>
Date: Thu, Oct 2, 2014 at 3:33 PM
Subject: [opennetcoalition] Open Letter To The Council Of The European
Union on Net Neutrality
To: opennetcoalition at laquadrature.net

Themes: NETWORK NEUTRALITY, EUROPEAN UNION, TELECOM SINGLE MARKET, OPEN
LETTER

La Quadrature du Net – For immediate release

Permanent link:
https://www.laquadrature.net/en/open-letter-to-the-council-of-the-european-union-on-net-neutrality

Open Letter To The Council Of The European Union on Net Neutrality

*** Paris 1 October 2014 — In the wake of the debate on the Telecom Single
Market, which is becoming quite intense within the Council of the European
Union, La Quadrature du Net, along with other organisations, consumers
groups and industry representatives, has sent the Council an open letter in
order to draw its members’ attention to issues related to Net neutrality in
the European Union.  ***

On April 3rd, the European Parliament took a historic step [1] for the
protection of Net Neutrality and the Internet commons in the European
Union, becoming the worldwide champion of the founding principle of the
Internet, as we know it today. The legislative resolution voted by the
European Parliament guarantees in fact a high level of protection against
discriminations on the Internet, ensures a fair competition between every
single player on the telecom market, defends the freedom of users to access
services and contents of their choice and protects the European citizens’
right to freedom of expression and information.

The battle within the European Parliament mainly pivoted on the regime to
be applied on specialised services, which is a crucial issue to prevent
telecom operators from jeopardizing Net Neutrality. The Council cannot
ignore the wonderful outcome the European Parliament – supported by
thousand of citizens actively involved in the process – achieved last
April, placing the European Union on the front line for the protection of
the most powerful instrument of freedom and democracy ever seen, which is
the Internet.

The full letter and list of the signatories can be found below:

Dear Ambassadors,

Please make your relevant Ministers aware of this call to support net
neutrality rules in the proposed Telecommunications Single Market
Regulation.

We understand that you are currently involved in the Council of Ministers
discussions on the proposed European Telecommunications Single Market
Regulation. We, the undersigned organisations, are committed to an open,
transparent and secure Internet and would like to call on you to support
strong open Internet provisions as part of this proposal.

The open nature of the Internet is a key driver for innovation and economic
efficiency and for fostering informed citizenship and plurality of
opinions, creating a vital need for effective rules on net neutrality at EU
level. Providing a clear EU regulatory framework on net neutrality would
bring much needed certainty for sustained investment in innovative online
content and applications that are available to everyone equally and boost
consumers’ trust in the Internet and the digital society.

Net neutrality allows consumers and citizens across Europe to enjoy
unfettered access to the Internet, regardless of the content, services and
applications they use. This principle enables everyone, including
innovators and entrepreneurs, to communicate with everyone, both in Europe
and globally. Net neutrality is indispensable for innovation and growth,
for the fundamental right to receive and impart information and for
investment in next generation broadband.

We now call on the Council to take a strong stance on net neutrality.

Studies by regulators have unequivocally demonstrated that clear rules are
necessary to halt discriminatory practices. Sound rules on net neutrality
should include a clearly stated non-discrimination principle for Internet
access providers. These rules allow Internet access providers to manage
traffic but it should neither be prioritized nor discriminated against
based on the content, services, applications, or devices that are being
used. Internet access providers should clearly be able to offer customers
internet access packages with different speeds and volumes – as long as
they treat services and applications in a non-discriminatory manner.

Such rules should not prevent Internet access providers from offering
“specialised services” if they wish, as long as they do not degrade or
impair internet access services and are not discriminatory. National
regulators must have both effective tools and clear obligations to prevent
this from happening and should analyse and address each case on its merits.

EU-wide rules that include these principles will ensure that users, not
Internet access providers, decide what applications and content they use,
and enable entrepreneurs to market their services across the Union. It will
be a significant step towards a true digital single market and avoid
individual countries adopting different, perhaps incompatible legislation.
Finally, it will demonstrate a commitment by Member States to respond to
the demands of citizens, the European Parliament, and businesses across
Europe.

The upcoming negotiations between Telecoms Ministers are an opportunity to
send a clear signal to the other EU institutions and the European public
that there is a political will to establish an EU framework which enables
the EU to take up its role as a champion of the open Internet. We therefore
call upon you to work towards the inclusion of robust net neutrality
provisions in the Telecommunications Single Market Regulation proposal
which would provide certainty for providers of innovative online content,
applications and services, enhance transparency for end-users, and boost
consumers trust in the Internet.

The contributors of this open letter are:

- Access
- Bits of Freedom
- BEUC, The European Consumer Organisation
- CCIA, The Computer and Communications Industry Association
- CDT, The Center for Democracy & Technology
- EBU, The European Broadcasting Union
- EDRi, European Digital Rights
- Greenhost
- La Quadrature du Net
- OpenForum Europe

* References *

1.
https://www.laquadrature.net/en/net-neutrality-a-great-step-forward-for-the-free-internet

** 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 **

contact at laquadrature.net, +33 (0)972 294 426

https://www.laquadrature.net/en/press-room

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