November 24, 2009, 12:10 PM — After two years of often bitter debate, the European Parliament approved a raft of new telecom laws Tuesday.
Majority support for the package was achieved after the Parliament reached a compromise with national governments earlier this month on the controversial issue of illegal file sharing over the Internet.
The laws are designed to give European citizens cheaper telecom services, more privacy and a faster Internet. They pave the way for a more competitive single market in telecom services across the 27-nation European Union.
Incumbent operators will be forced to compete fairly with smaller rivals or face having their networks separated from their service divisions. An E.U. regulatory authority will be able to intervene if it is dissatisfied with how national regulators police their markets.
Meanwhile, operators will be obliged to allow consumers to switch to rival networks, taking their phone numbers with them, without delays. Consumers will be granted the right to be informed about data breaches involving their data.
With regard to file sharing, those suspected of illegally sharing copyright-protected content over the Internet will be assured the right of defense and the assumption of innocence rather than being summarily cut off from Internet access.
This last point nearly derailed the entire package a few months ago, when the Parliament tried to insert a safeguard for consumers that would have forced national authorities to seek a court order before cutting off a file sharer.
National governments, some of which are already seeking ways of clamping down on Internet piracy, refused to accept the move. A compromise was found earlier this month that leaves many opponents unsatisfied, but it did at least allow the legislative package to pass into law across the E.U.
