Today, the European Parliament adopted the Telecoms Single Market (TSM) regulation, a piece of legislation that has the potential to bring Net Neutrality to all 28 EU member states.
Today’s vote concludes two years of negotiations between the EU Parliament, Council, and Commission. The text adopted today contains positive principles prohibiting most — but not all — discrimination on the network. At the same time, several forms of restrictive behaviour could find refuge in its ambiguity.
In the week before the vote, political groups seeking to bring clarity to the text and ensure the delivery of Net Neutrality successfully advanced two sets of critical amendments. Unfortunately, today the Parliament missed the opportunity to incorporate these missing pieces into the text, deciding to leave the future of the internet to courts and telecoms regulators.
However, the adoption of the Telecoms Single Market regulation does open a nine-month consultation period during which the EU telecoms regulators are tasked to further define the adopted rules. Access Now will work closely with the authorities to ensure that passage of the TSM results in strong Net Neutrality protections that apply uniformly across the EU.
Access Now would like to thank everyone who took action through the coalition platform, savetheinternet.eu , over the past two years. Even though the TSM has been adopted without amendments, the fight for Net Neutrality is not over. We will continue to make sure that your voice is heard.
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