Ofcom are to look at the question of net neutrality, in advance of the telecoms Package being transposed into UK law. The EU Directive introduces new scope for 'traffic management' that ORG, La Quadrature du Net and others have warned could be open to anti-competitive abuse. There is scope on the Directive for member states to have tighter rules to stop anti-competitive behaviour. Ofcom say:
‘New EU rules give regulators a clear responsibility to address the emerging issues around traffic management. The question is how Ofcom uses these and existing powers to further the interests of consumers, while supporting vibrant, innovative content production and network deployment,’ said Ofcom Chief Executive, Ed Richards.
‘The internet is playing an increasingly central role in the lives of citizens, consumers and industry. It provides access to an ever growing range of content, applications and services that we have come to both expect and depend on. How this access is controlled by ISPs affects us all and is of wide reaching significance.
‘At the heart of this discussion is how to ensure that traffic management practices are transparent and how to ensure that traffic management is not used for anti-competitive discrimination.’
