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Italian proposals for changes to draft legislation already adopted by Parliament would weaken citizen's rights, according to EDRi

European Union legislation on net neutrality is under threat, as Italy is seeking to water down a draft already adopted by the European Parliament, a digital rights group has warned.

Italy's proposals include removing the very definition of net neutrality, and allowing differential charging for services, according to preparatory documents for the Nov. 27 EU Council meeting of telecommunications ministers, at which the issue is due to be discussed.

The leaked information note and its annex were obtained by European digital rights group EDRi and show that Italy, which holds the rotating presidency of the Council, has proposed that member states agree on a weakened form of net neutrality.

"These documents show that the Italian Presidency is now back-pedalling on meaningful net neutrality protections," the group said.

Member states' ambassadors in Brussels are discussing net neutrality on Friday, as they prepare the agenda for the Nov. 27 Council meeting, a Council official said. "They should decide what they will propose to the ministers," she said, adding that as talks were ongoing she couldn't say what the proposal will be.

The biggest gap in the amended proposals, according to EDRi, is that they fail to prohibit discrimination on the basis of billing.

"Allowing 'free' access to certain services and metered access to everything else is as much -- and as damaging -- an infringement of net neutrality and the fundamental right of freedom to impart information, as any blocking or filtering," it said, adding that if people have to pay extra to access a website or have to pay Internet companies to allow them to do so, the essence of the open Internet has been dismantled.

Other worries include the Italian presidency's proposal to remove key definitions from the text. In the document, the Italian presidency wrote: "Instead of a definition of net neutrality there could be a reference to the objective of net neutrality, e.g. in an explanatory recital, which would resolve the concerns that the definition might be at variance with the specific provisions."

But without meaningful and enforceable net neutrality provisions, EDRi said, the fundamental right to receive and impart information would be hindered.

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EU net neutrality legislation under threat from Italian proposals, says rights group