Yesterday’s  net neutrality announcement by the FCC  was a Red Letter day for Internet freedom in the US. How will  the European Union react ?  

The United States telecoms regulator, the Federal Communications Commission, yesterday confirmed its policy direction in favour of net neutrality. It has ordered that broadband providers are to come under the common carriage regulation, which means they must neither prevent nor favour traffic, but take all on an equal basis.  The  FCC’s message is simple and clear: no blocking, no throttling, no fast lanes. The rule applies equally to mobile and fixed network providers. Meanwhile, in the deep, non-enlightened corridors of Brussels,  the EU is threatening measures that would embed exactly

Read more: The FCC orders to protect net neutrality - how will Europe react?

Following the astonishing decision last week by the US Federal Communications Commission on protecting the open Internet - no blocking, no fast lanes, no throttling - the European Parliament today begins the political defence of  net neutrality on this side of the Atlantic. At around midday today, the Parliament will take a

Read more: EU Parliament steels its resolve on net neutrality

Opt-outs for self-regulatory filtering and FacebookZero plans? Is this really net neutrality?

 The Council of Ministers is to focus on net neutrality and roaming and throw out the remaining provisions in the EU Telecoms Regulation. It’s aiming for an agreement by March, so that it can open negotiations with the European Parliament. Unfortunately for those who may be hoping for a net neutrality law in Europe, the discussions are going the wrong way, with a number of get-outs being proposed to help those  governments that want to permit their Internet providers to block,  filter or favour.

Read more: Working towards a disconnected Continent - net neutrality gets the EU Council treatment