From neutrality to impartiality in the Internet: the case of EU policies. A critical analysis and proposals

  • Rafael Rodríguez Prieto Pablo de Olavide University
DOI: https://doi.org/10.18543/ced-57-2017pp217-246
Keywords: Internet, neutrality, civil rights

Abstract

Net Neutrality is the Internet’s main pillar: It means an Internet that enables civil rights and open Internet. Internet service corporations should not discriminate, in general terms, against any content that ride over those networks. Net Neutrality is necessary to preserve an equal access for everyone. Otherwise, corporations would carve the Internet into fast and slow lanes. It would be the end of open Internet. European Union attempted to strengthen net neutrality by requiring internet service providers (ISPs) to treat all web traffic equally, without favoring some services over others (EU rules on net neutrality (open internet) apply as of 30 April 2016, following the adoption of Regulation (EU) 2015/2120 on 25 November 2015). However, the regulation contained several loopholes that raised concerns both net neutrality groups and free trade advocates. On 30 August 2016 the Body of European Regulators for Electronic Communications (BEREC) issued guidelines for the implementation of the obligations of NRAs in order to contribute to the consistent application of the Regulation that were adopted last year. The guidelines didn’t clarify the regulation. This paper aims to analyze the legislation. It focuses on the discussion about fast lanes» for «specialized services,» or zero-rating, under which certain services would be exempt from monthly data limits. This paper proposes a new and more accurate approach to an open and free Internet, called «net impartiality».

Received: 12 January 2017
Accepted: 22 April 2017
Published online: 01 October 2017

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Author Biography

Rafael Rodríguez Prieto, Pablo de Olavide University

Rafael Rodríguez Prieto is a political and legal theorist and Profesor Titular at Pablo de Olavide University of Seville. Researcher, RCC James B. Conant Research Group at Harvard University (Media & Democracy) and Vice-chair of Ideas & Political Praxis Lab, a think tank on radical democracy. He directed a national I+D research project on Human Rights in the Digital Era. His research interests include critical legal theory, participatory politics, anti-Semitism and the battles for control of the Internet. Rafael studied at Yad Vashem, Center for Holocaust Studies (Israel), specializing in education and anti-Semitism. He holds a PhD, European Mention (Università di Bologna-Universiteit Utrecht and Pablo de Olavide University of Seville). Rafael holds a Masters in Latin American Studies (UNIA) and BA and MA degrees (licenciado) in Anthropology, Law and Philosophy (University of Seville). Rafael was postdoctoral fellow at Harvard Law School and Kennedy School of Government. His recent books are Ciudadanos soberanos. Participación y democracia directa (Almuzara, 2005), Caos digital y medios comunes. Transformaciones de la comunicación social en el siglo xxi (with A. González, Dykinson, 2014), Poder e Internet. Un análisis crítico de la Red (with F. Martínez, Cátedra, 2015) and Videojuegos: la explosión digital que está cambiando el mundo (edit. Héroes de Papel, 2015). He published with Aleksandra Hadzelek «Movinets and the Future of Social Movements: How 15M and Occupy Revolutionised Political Protest», in: Essays 2014: Politics, Melbourne: Australian Scholarly Publishing, 2014, pp. 33-49.

Published
2017-10-01
How to Cite
Rodríguez Prieto, Rafael. 2017. “From Neutrality to Impartiality in the Internet: The Case of EU Policies. A Critical Analysis and Proposals”. Deusto Journal of European Studies, no. 57 (October), 217-46. https://doi.org/10.18543/ced-57-2017pp217-246.
Issue
No. 57 (2017): La contribución de la UE a los grandes desafíos de la sociedad internacional
Section
Monographic Articles

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