The Netherlands Passes Net Neutrality Legislation

[p2p rules]

New legislation in the Netherlands makes it the first country in Europe to establish a legal framework supporting net neutrality. In addition to the net neutrality provisions, the law contains language that restricts when ISPs can wiretap their users, and limits the circumstances under which ISPs can cut off a subscriber's Internet access altogether.

The anti-wiretapping section of the new law specifies that ISPs may not use technologies like deep packet inspection (DPI), except under limited circumstances, or with explicit consent from the ISP’s customer, or to comply with a court order or other legislative provisions. One Dutch ISP, KPN, came under fire last year for using DPI to determine whether its subscribers were using VoIP on mobile devices.

The new law sets out an exhaustive list of six circumstances in which an ISP can disconnect or suspend the Internet access of subscribers. These include: termination at the request of the subscriber, non-payment by a subscriber, in cases of deception, at the expiry of a fixed contract, force majeure, or if the ISP is required to terminate by law or a court order. In addition, the network neutrality provisions also permit blocking of an Internet connection where necessary for the integrity and security of a network.

EFF