Brussels, Belgium – After lawmakers reached an unclear compromise on Net Neutrality and mobile phone roaming charges earlier this year, the proposed Telecoms Single Market regulation has been submitted to the European Parliament for a final vote. In the vote…
6 October 2015
Today Facebook announced several changes to Internet.org in response to growing international complaints about the program. While some of the changes are positive, our core concerns remain — the program now known as Free Basics violates Net Neutrality and establishes Facebook as a global gatekeeper for internet connectivity, affecting billions of peoples’ ability to connect to the free and open internet. …
24 September 2015
The Global Net Neutrality Coalition now has 70 member organizations from five continents. Today the coalition launched a revamped website at thisisnetneutrality.org featuring an interactive map that shows the status of Net Neutrality around the globe; a model policy framework developed by the Dynamic Coalition on Network Neutrality for crafting legislation and regulations; and other resources for global advocates fighting for a free and open internet.…
11 August 2015
On July 3rd, after more than ten hours of discussion, the three major EU institutions — the Commission, Parliament and Council — reached a political agreement on the text of the Telecoms Single Market (TSM) Regulation, a contentious piece of EU legislation that includes continent-wide provisions on Net Neutrality. Today, the Industry Committee of the European Parliament has formally approved this text.…
15 July 2015
UPDATE: Late in the evening on Monday, June 29, three EU government institutions struck an agreement on the Telecoms Single Market Regulation. The current text both protects and undermines Net Neutrality. Here’s what you need to know.…
30 June 2015
For the last two months, the EU Commission, the EU Parliament, and representatives of the EU member states (Council) have gathered almost every week to try to strike a deal on the Telecoms Single Market (TSM). …
27 May 2015
Facebook has published “myths and facts” about Internet.org in an attempt to address the growing concerns that digital rights defenders have about the program. But its “demythification” attempt falls short. …
19 May 2015
As digital rights advocates around the world celebrate the victory for Net Neutrality in the U.S., we should remember that the fight in Europe is heating up. Right now decision makers in Brussels are negotiating over a crucial text to preserve the open internet, and it’s time for them to make the right decision and pass Net Neutrality into law. The European Parliament holds the key.…
8 April 2015
Almost a year after the approval of Brazil’s landmark Marco Civil da Internet, the government is seeking public comments on how best to implement the legislation. Access submitted a brief on zero rating, a dangerous practice that threatens to undermine the open internet in the country.…
2 April 2015
After a lot anticipation and hand wringing, the U.S. Federal Communications Commission finally released its rules about how it will implement its landmark Open Internet Order. The rules — which run some 300 pages — block the creation of fast and slow lanes and appropriately classify broadband internet as a “telecommunications service” under Title II of the Communications Act.…
12 March 2015
One thing has remained clear — European internet users strongly support Net Neutrality and want the EU to pass the strongest rules possible. As discussions of the Telecoms Single Market text were taking place, the EU Commissioner for Digital Economy & Society, Günther Oettinger, absurdly compared the internet advocacy community and the Pirate Party to the Taliban…
10 March 2015
Two weeks from now, Access will head to Manila to host RightsCon — our signature conference featuring digital rights activists, companies, government officials, technologists, and academics — together with our partners Engage Media and the Foundation for Media Alternatives. We’ll be tackling the most pressing issues affecting digital rights and the open internet.…
5 March 2015