Internet Openness

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IGF DCNN

Internet
Openness

IGF Dynamic Coalition on Network Neutrality - Working for an Open Internet

29 Internet Experts and Academics send a Letter to the Commission urging to abandon the “Sending-Party-Network-Pays” proposal
29 Internet Experts and Academics send a Letter to the Commission urging to abandon the “Sending-Party-Network-Pays” proposal

Note: if you are interested in signing on to the letter please email me at : konstantinos at komaitis dot org Dear Commissioner Vestager,Dear Commissioner Breton, The undersigned experts write to express our concern and to urge the Commission to abandon its plans to require content providers to pay telecommunication providers an “infrastructure fee”, often […]

The value of Internet Openness in times of crisis
The value of Internet Openness in times of crisis

Official outcome of the UN IGF Coalitions on Net Neutrality and on Community Connectivity This volume explores “The Value of Internet Openness in Times of Crisis” and is the official outcome of the Coalitions on Net Neutrality and on Community Connectivity of the United Nations Internet Governance Forum. This work stems from the consideration that […]

Net Neutrality Reloaded: Zero Rating, Specialised Service, Ad Blocking and Traffic Management
Net Neutrality Reloaded: Zero Rating, Specialised Service, Ad Blocking and Traffic Management

Annual Report of the UN IGF Dynamic Coalition on Net Neutrality This Report is the 2016 outcome of the IGF Dynamic Coalition on Network Neutrality (DCNN). The Report gathers a series of case studies on a variety of net neutrality issues from the perspective of different stakeholders. The double purpose of this report is to […]

Network Neutrality: an Ongoing Regulatory Debate
Network Neutrality: an Ongoing Regulatory Debate

One year after its inception, the Dynamic Coalition on Network Neutrality (DC NN) renews its commitment towards the enrichment of the Internet policy debate, by publishing its second annual report. The publication of the first DC NN report played an inspiring role for policy makers, particularly at the European level. In fact, the work of […]

Net Neutrality Compendium: Human Rights, Free Competition and the Future of the Internet
Net Neutrality Compendium: Human Rights, Free Competition and the Future of the Internet

The ways in which Internet traffic is managed have direct consequences on Internet users’ rights as well as on their capability to compete on a level playing field. Network neutrality mandates to treat Internet traffic in a non-discriminatory fashion in order to maximise end users’ freedom and safeguard an open Internet. This book is the […]

Protecting Human Rights through Network Neutrality
Protecting Human Rights through Network Neutrality

Furthering internet users’ interests, modernising Human Rights and safeguarding the open Internet Providing guidance to member states and/or to facilitating the elaboration of guidelines with and for private sector actors in order to define more precisely acceptable management measures and minimum quality-of-service requirements CM Declaration on Network Neutrality of 2010 Luca Belli & Matthijs van […]

The value of Network Neutrality for the Internet of tomorrow
The value of Network Neutrality for the Internet of tomorrow

The report explores some of the most crucial facets of Network Neutrality, underscoring its close relationship with the full enjoyment of end-users fundamental rights. The report also includes a proposal for a Model Framework on Network Neutrality that has been elaborated by the Dynamic Coalition through an open, inclusive and multi-stakeholder effort, in order to […]

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29 Internet Experts and Academics send a Letter to the Commission urging to abandon the “Sending-Party-Network-Pays” proposal
29 Internet Experts and Academics send a Letter to the Commission urging to abandon the “Sending-Party-Network-Pays” proposal
The value of Internet Openness in times of crisis
The value of Internet Openness in times of crisis
Net Neutrality Reloaded: Zero Rating, Specialised Service, Ad Blocking and Traffic Management
Net Neutrality Reloaded: Zero Rating, Specialised Service, Ad Blocking and Traffic Management
Network Neutrality: an Ongoing Regulatory Debate
Network Neutrality: an Ongoing Regulatory Debate
Net Neutrality Compendium: Human Rights, Free Competition and the Future of the Internet
Net Neutrality Compendium: Human Rights, Free Competition and the Future of the Internet
Protecting Human Rights through Network Neutrality
Protecting Human Rights through Network Neutrality
The value of Network Neutrality for the Internet of tomorrow
The value of Network Neutrality for the Internet of tomorrow
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Open Statement on Internet Openness

This Statement was elaborated through a participatory process organized via the Coalition mailing list. After a first round of consultations, the first draft of the Statement was presented at the IGF 2021 session of the Coalition.

During the session, stakeholders proposed to further elaborate the Statement, particularly enhancing the document’s paragraphs on interoperability and device neutrality. To collect further inputs and feedback a collaborative pad was set up, facilitating collaboration amongst all interested stakeholders. The Consolidated version of this Statement has been presented at the IGF 2022 session of the Coalition.

The DCNN advocates for open, secure, and non-discriminatory Internet, affordable and accessible to all people. The Coalition has been promoting Network Neutrality as this fundamental principle plays an instrumental role in preserving Internet Openness; fostering the enjoyment of Internet users’ human rights; promoting competition and equality of opportunity; safeguarding the generative peer-to-peer nature of the Internet; and spreading the benefits of the Internet to all people.

The early works of the Coalition have focused on Internet traffic management, stressing the need that operators’ practices should be transparent and non-discriminatory, to be compatible with the Network Neutrality Principle. Since its creation this Coalition has explored the various dimensions of Net Neutrality and Internet Openness, acknowledging that Internet Openness is a multifaceted concept, and the debate on Net Neutrality and internet traffic management is only part of it.

Subsequent DCNN works have explored how price discrimination practices known as “zero rating” models affect Internet Openness, the fundamental importance of this concept in times of crisis, such as during the Covid-19 pandemic, and the instrumental role of internet openness as an essential precondition of meaningful connectivity.

Importantly, Internet Openness serves the interests of the public by preserving a level playing field with minimal barriers to entry and by providing equal opportunity for the invention and development of new applications, services, and business models.

Open Statement on Internet Openness | IGF DCNN | page 1

In this perspective, Net Neutrality is necessary, but not sufficient to preserve Internet Openness. Free competition among broadband networks, software and hardware technologies and all players in the Internet ecosystem is essential to ensure the openness of the Internet.

Besides relying on the network neutrality principle, the preservation of Internet Openness relies on Interoperability and Device Neutrality.

Network Neutrality is the principle according to which Internet traffic shall be treated without discrimination, restriction, or interference regardless of its sender, recipient, type or content so that Internet users’ freedom is not restricted by favouring or disfavouring the transmission of specific Internet traffic. Exceptions to such principles shall be necessary and proportionate to achieve a legitimate aim.

Interoperability is the ability to transfer and render useful data and other information across systems, applications, or components (horizontal interoperability) and for third parties to build upon a certain technology (vertical interoperability). The combination of transmission and analysis involves several layers of interconnection, requiring the achievement of various levels of interoperability. At a minimum, one should distinguish between the lower (network) and the upper (application) layers, pointing to a division between infrastructural interoperability and data interoperability.

Device neutrality is the property ensuring users’ right to non-discrimination in the services and apps they use, based on platform control by hardware companies. That means users can have a choice of the application they prefer to use, regardless of the brand of device they are using. In other words, device neutrality is instrumental to achieving the ability to run any application so that users can access and share to all applications, content, and services, as long as they are deemed legal in a given jurisdiction, which is essential to achieving an open Internet.

This Statement was elaborated through a participatory process organized via the Coalition mailing list. After a first round of consultations, the first draft of the Statement was presented at the IGF 2021 session of the Coalition.

During the session, stakeholders proposed to further elaborate the Statement, particularly enhancing the document’s paragraphs on interoperability and device neutrality. To collect further inputs and feedback a collaborative pad was set up, facilitating collaboration amongst all interested stakeholders. The Consolidated version of this Statement has been presented at the IGF 2022 session of the Coalition.

The DCNN advocates for open, secure, and non-discriminatory Internet, affordable and accessible to all people. The Coalition has been promoting Network Neutrality as this fundamental principle plays an instrumental role in preserving Internet Openness; fostering the enjoyment of Internet users’ human rights; promoting competition and equality of opportunity; safeguarding the generative peer-to-peer nature of the Internet; and spreading the benefits of the Internet to all people.

The early works of the Coalition have focused on Internet traffic management, stressing the need that operators’ practices should be transparent and non-discriminatory, to be compatible with the Network Neutrality Principle. Since its creation this Coalition has explored the various dimensions of Net Neutrality and Internet Openness, acknowledging that Internet Openness is a multifaceted concept, and the debate on Net Neutrality and internet traffic management is only part of it.

Subsequent DCNN works have explored how price discrimination practices known as “zero rating” models affect Internet Openness, the fundamental importance of this concept in times of crisis, such as during the Covid-19 pandemic, and the instrumental role of internet openness as an essential precondition of meaningful connectivity.

Importantly, Internet Openness serves the interests of the public by preserving a level playing field with minimal barriers to entry and by providing equal opportunity for the invention and development of new applications, services, and business models.

In this perspective, Net Neutrality is necessary, but not sufficient to preserve Internet Openness. Free competition among broadband networks, software and hardware technologies and all players in the Internet ecosystem is essential to ensure the openness of the Internet.

Besides relying on the network neutrality principle, the preservation of Internet Openness relies on Interoperability and Device Neutrality.

Network Neutrality is the principle according to which Internet traffic shall be treated without discrimination, restriction, or interference regardless of its sender, recipient, type or content so that Internet users’ freedom is not restricted by favouring or disfavouring the transmission of specific Internet traffic. Exceptions to such principles shall be necessary and proportionate to achieve a legitimate aim.

Interoperability is the ability to transfer and render useful data and other information across systems, applications, or components (horizontal interoperability) and for third parties to build upon a certain technology (vertical interoperability). The combination of transmission and analysis involves several layers of interconnection, requiring the achievement of various levels of interoperability. At a minimum, one should distinguish between the lower (network) and the upper (application) layers, pointing to a division between infrastructural interoperability and data interoperability.

Device neutrality is the property ensuring users’ right to non-discrimination in the services and apps they use, based on platform control by hardware companies. That means users can have a choice of the application they prefer to use, regardless of the brand of device they are using. In other words, device neutrality is instrumental to achieving the ability to run any application so that users can access and share to all applications, content, and services, as long as they are deemed legal in a given jurisdiction, which is essential to achieving an open Internet.