Preiskel & CoPreiskel & Co
Preiskel & Co
A boutique law firm in London
  • Home
  • About Us
    • Diversity, Social Responsibility, and Pro Bono
  • Services
    • Corporate
    • Commercial
    • Regulatory
    • Competition & Antitrust
    • Data Protection, Privacy, and Retention
    • Intellectual Property
    • Dispute Resolution
    • Employment
  • Sectors
    • Telecommunications
    • IT, Technology, & Internet
    • Media and Broadcasting
    • Websites, Blogging, & Social Media
    • Film & Television
    • Gambling & Online Gaming
    • Leisure & Retail
    • Energy & Minerals
    • Cryptocurrency & Blockchain
    • Creative Industries
  • People
    • Daniel Preiskel
    • Ronnie Preiskel
    • Tim Cowen
    • Jose Saras
    • Robert Dougans
    • Karthyaeni Vittala
    • Tina Cowen
    • Xavier Prida
    • Martina Raciti
    • Ewelina James
    • Rachael Machado
    • Maria Constantin
    • Peter Dally
    • Richard Stewart
    • Joanna Coombs-Huang
    • Paul Stelges
    • Hannah Leader
    • Alison MacFarlane
    • Ilanit Appelfeld
    • Daniel Oakland
    • Sophia Yakhno
    • Sue Warwick
    • D A T Green
    • Antony Corel
    • Stewart White
    • Mor Swiel
    • Stephen Hornsby
    • Tony Curzon-Price
    • Robert Harvey
    • Shardi Shameli
  • International
  • Blog
  • News
    • Publications
  • Contact
Menu back  

New agreement on net neutrality rules for Europe

June 30, 2015By Preiskel & Co

Following the European Commission’s proposal for a telecoms single market in September 2013, the European Parliament, Council and Commission have finally reached an agreement on rules for safeguarding the open Internet in the EU – a principle known as net neutrality.

Net neutrality is a principle that internet traffic should be treated without discrimination. This means that operators would not be able to control what end users access on the internet by means of slowing load time, blocking or charging premium rates to access specific content. The US has recently backed up net neutrality after the decision by the Federal Communications Commission in February. Such decision reclassified internet broadband services as public utility, giving the FCC the powers to regulate broadband and impose net neutrality principles to US operators.

Criticism has been directed to the proposed EU rules on net neutrality as they allow some exceptions. Operators will not be prevented from giving priority to specialised or innovative services, such as IPTV, high-definition videoconferencing or healthcare services, provided that open internet access is preserved. Throttling traffic will also be allowed if it is in the public interest to do so – for example, to combat child sexual abuse and terrorist attacks.

The agreement  reflects important changes for operators and end users of broadband services in the EU. As per now, net neutrality rules have not been harmonised in the EU and there is a gap in the legal protection related to the right to access the full open internet with some diverging provisions in the member states. The final text still needs to be approved by the European Parliament and member states before it comes into law, but due to the informal agreement, the approval is considered likely to happen.

Latest Preiskel & Co blog posts
  • CMA AI Report: The Foundation of the UK’s AI Response
    September 21, 2023
  • Navigating Health Data Compliance: A Roadmap for Employers
    September 21, 2023
  • Transatlantic convergence? Recent cases on advertising and privacy from the USA and UK
    September 15, 2023
  • Practical Guide – Net Neutrality in the UK
    September 14, 2023
  • Virgin succeeded in defending a claim by EE for loss of EE’s profits caused by Virgin’s breach of the MVNO Exclusivity Clause
    September 12, 2023
  • Getting out of a (data) scrape: global statement published for the protection of publicly accessible personal data online
    September 8, 2023
  • The dark side of design: the ICO and CMA call for businesses to rethink their website layouts
    August 18, 2023
  • Could the Supreme Court’s ruling on litigation funding agreements cause havoc for litigation funders?
    August 17, 2023
  • US Threats of a ‘Te(ch)xodus’ from the UK?
    August 17, 2023
  • Smoother Sailing for EU-US Data Transfers after GDPR Adequacy Decision
    August 4, 2023
  • Unlocking Data Flows: EU-US Data Privacy Framework Receives Adequacy Decision
    July 13, 2023
  • UK’s World Leading Approach on Artificial Intelligence – White Paper outlines 5 guideline principles for responsible use of AI
    July 5, 2023

The Preiskel Blog

  • CMA AI Report: The Foundation of the UK’s AI Response 21 Sep 2023
  • Navigating Health Data Compliance: A Roadmap for Employers 21 Sep 2023
  • Transatlantic convergence? Recent cases on advertising and privacy from the USA and UK 15 Sep 2023
  • Practical Guide – Net Neutrality in the UK 14 Sep 2023

Preiskel news

  • Practical Guide – Net Neutrality in the UK
  • Danny Preiskel featured in GCCM Magazine (June/July 2023 issue 55)  
  • Danny Preiskel moderating a panel at the MEF Connects – The Future of Fraud Prevention event (5th September 2023, hybrid)
  • Preiskel & Co advised TMT Analysis on the acquisition of Phronesis Technologies
Preiskel & Co LLP
4 King's Bench Walk,
Temple,
London
EC4Y 7DL
United Kingdom

Tel: +44 20 7332 5640
Email: info@preiskel.com

Find us on:

TwitterLinkedinMail
© Preiskel & Co LLP 2023 | Site map | Legal notices | Cookie Policy | Privacy