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Council of Europe issues network neutrality guidelines to protect freedom of expression and privacy

posted on 22 January, 2016   (public)

Council of Europe issues network neutrality guidelines to protect freedom of expression and privacy

The Council of Europe called on European states to safeguard the principle of network neutrality in the development of national legal frameworks in order to ensure the protection of the right to freedom of expression and to access to information, and the right to privacy.

In a Recommendation adopted on 13 January 2016, at the 1244th meeting of the Ministers’ Deputies, the Committee of Ministers representing the 47 Council of European member States, issued a set of network neutrality guidelines pointing out that Internet traffic should be treated equally, without discrimination, restriction or interference irrespective of the sender, receiver, content, application, service or device.

Whilst acknowledging that Internet traffic management can sometimes pursue legitimate purposes, the Committee of Ministers stresses that it can also result in blocking, discrimination or prioritisation of specific types of content, applications or services.

Source: Website of the Council of Europe

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