The Latvian presidency of the EU has secured a compromise on net neutrality regulations among EU member states. Negotiations can now get underway with the European Parliament, which passed a different version of the proposal last April. The parliament must approve a final version of the legislation before it can take effect.

The council members have ceded to industry pressure to allow different levels of service quality for specific customers. ISPs offering this type of service level agreement would still need to ensure the overall quality of Internet access for all customers and blocking or slowing down specific content or applications will be prohibited, with only a limited number of exceptions allowed for circumstances such as traffic management and network security. National regulators would enforce the net neutrality rules, based on guidance to be developed by the EU regulatory body Berec.

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