The Netherlands is on its way to become the first European country to pass a legislation on Net neutrality.
Net neutrality advocates have been calling for a law that would ensure that people get access to all Web content equally, while Internet service providers (ISPs), including BT, Sky and Virgin Media prefer a two-tier model.
The Netherlands has cleared the way for the law after a debate in the lower house. The legislation is expected to be approved of by the Dutch government next Tuesday, following a vote.
Minister of economic affairs Maxime Verhagen raised some concerns surrounding the regulation in the debate. The points debated included censorship of pornographic content and the use of deep packet inspection (DPI).
The Netherlands would become the first European country to regulate Net neutrality and the second country in the world after Chile, which passed a law on Net neutrality last year.
However, other European member states such as the UK and France are still in the process of arriving at a consensus on Net neutrality, despite the efforts of European Digital Agenda Commissioner Neelie Kroes to legislate against Internet providers who support a two-tier model.
In April, Kroes published an EU report on net neutrality which says that the EU will investigate whether ISPs are providing fair access to online services.
The investigation will cover both mobile and fixed providers and a report based on the findings will be published by the end of the year. The report could lead to a ban on ISPs from restricting access to data-heavy services during peak periods.
Kroes had said, "At the end of 2011, I will publish the results, including any instances of blocking or throttling certain types of traffic. If I am not satisfied, I will not hesitate to come up with more stringent measures, which may take the form of guidance or even general legislative measures to achieve the competition and choice consumers deserve."
The EU’s announcement disappointed net-neutrality campaigners. They have raised concerns that without stricter rules, ISPs may begin charging for unrestricted access to consumers and create a "two-tiered" Internet. This, they say, will harm small businesses.
Meanwhile, ISPs argue that traffic management is key to maintaining a quality service.
British ISPs have defended a two-tier Internet model at a ministerial summit on net neutrality chaired by communications minister Ed Vaizey.
ISPs – BT, Sky and Virgin Media – called for prioritising some traffic on their networks and block some. But the move could make some services out of reach for many users.
