Dutch lawmakers pass net-neutrality bill

{mosads}The passage of the bill was announced by Bits of Freedom, a Dutch digital-rights group that has lobbied strongly for the legislation.

Network management techniques that most ISPs use are still allowed, but only to improve user experiences or to legitimately bolster Internet security.

The Dutch law also goes further by adding tough new anti-wiretapping provisions, specifically a ban on the use of any sort of deep packet inspection (DPI) technology by governments or private companies. DPI has been used by ISPs in some countries to identify traffic from file-sharing sites, and in more repressive regimes to track the activities of online dissidents.

But the law still allows for legitimate uses of DPI with either a judicial warrant or the consent of the user, depending on the situation.