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European Commission wants your opinion on net neutrality

European Commission wants your opinion on net neutrality

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The European Commission is launching an EU-wide consultation period to gauge public opinion on net neutrality and other related fields.

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Nilay Net Neutrality
Nilay Net Neutrality

The European Commission is launching an EU-wide consultation period to gauge public opinion on net neutrality. To collect responses the EC has created a questionnaire that any European citizen can complete, which poses questions such as:

"Please provide your views on the following ways/situations where traffic management may be applied by ISPs.

Are traffic management measures used to implement or manage compliance with the explicit contractual restrictions (e.g. on P2P or VoIP) of the Internet access product accepted by the user necessary, appropriate, or problematic?"

Other questions relate to congestion management, managed services, privacy, transparency, internet restrictions, and the ease of switching internet providers. The consultation period is just the latest in a long line of EU research into net neutrality. Neelie Kroes, EU Vice President, says that there's a "lack of effective consumer choice" that needs to be addressed. She plans to use the consultation to "prepare recommendations that will generate more real choices and end the net neutrality waiting game in Europe."

Kroes has spearheaded the EU's work on net neutrality, and has previously said that she is "in favor of an open internet and maximum choice. That must be protected. But you don’t need me or the EU telling you what sort of Internet services you must pay for."

If you want your voice to be heard, you can head directly to the survey — it shouldn't take longer than ten minutes to fill out, and you'll make Nilay Patel a very happy man. The closing date for responses is October 15th, so speak now, or forever hold your peace.