A coalition of civil society organisations has launched www.thisisnetneutrality.org, which includes a basic, collaborative, and universal definition of net neutrality. The diverse coalition includes more than 35 groups from 19 countries, such as South Korea, Venezuela, Nigeria, Kenya, India, Germany, Pakistan, the United Kingdom, Chile, Bangladesh, Colombia, and the Netherlands.

The coalition agreed upon the following definition, which has been translated into 11 languages, including Mandarin, Spanish, Dutch, Arabic, Korean, and German: “Net neutrality requires that the Internet be maintained as an open platform, on which network providers treat all content, applications and services equally, without discrimination.”

The coalition says it could not have come together at a more critical moment. In the US, net neutrality has finally become a kitchen-table topic, following President Obama’s breakthrough statement in which he called for the Federal Communications Commission to pass bold rules protecting the open Internet. Meanwhile, the European Union could soon pass landmark net neutrality legislation, with the Telecoms Single Market proposal currently sitting with the Council of the European Union.

“This dynamic coalition shows the importance of net neutrality to every Internet user around the world. The open Internet remains a crucial driver of education, expression, innovation, health, and creativity; every Internet user everywhere deserves equal access to this revolutionary medium. Advocates and decision makers around the world are watching the contentious net neutrality debates in the US and the EU. The decisions made in those regions will set global precedents for how to ensure and protect a neutral, non-discriminatory Internet,” declared Josh Levy, Advocacy Director at Access, one of the 35 founding coalition members.

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