Chile: First Country to Legislate Net Neutrality · Global Voices
Claudio Ruiz

After nearly three years of discussions, Chile approved the commonly named Net Neutrality Law [es], which includes the addition of three articles to the General Law of Telecommunications.
The reform implies, among other things, that Internet Service Providers will not be able to arbitrarily block, interfere, discriminate, hinder or restrict content, applications or legal services that users perform on their networks. Additionally, the reform establishes the obligation to make information about connection plans transparent and allow the possibility to request parental controls at the expense of the applicant. The establishment of this legal guarantee has been seen as a great triumph for the principle of net neutrality and Chile has been highlighted as the first country to establish this principle by law.
One of the most important elements of this new law is that its initiative was promoted by a group of citizens organized through the Neutralidad Sí [es] community, who convinced representatives from Congress about the importance of having a law like this which guarantees rights of the users. Earlier, this group of users worked hard to show that important Internet Service Providers were performing acts contrary to the principle of neutrality, like blocking ports that allow the exchange of P2P files [es].
Felipe Morandé, Minister of Transportation and Telecommunications, said that [es], “It is a concrete step toward having greater transparency in the broadband market, stimulating competition for quality of service, which is the pillar of our public policy in telecommunications,” and he pointed out that the law, “places our country at the forefront in the world in terms of net neutrality. It shows that there is the political will in Chile to modernize the regulation of telecommunications and empower consumers. That is the path that we are following for the benefit of the citizens.”
The initiative has been generally well received by the public, as in ChileGeek for example, where Diego Narvaez mentions [es] four reasons why this is good legislation, pointing out that,
con este proyecto la legislación se pone a la vanguardia respecto a otros países como EEUU y comunidad Europea, en donde la neutralidad de la red no se encuentra legislada por el fuerte lobby que efectúan las empresas de telecomunicaciones y proveedoras de acceso.
But not everyone agrees. Although legislating on such an important matter seems like positive news, there are doubts about the real reach of the recently approved law. In Blawger, a blog specializing on legal matters, Miguel Morachimo says that [es],
﻿El proyecto ha sido denominado de “neutralidad de red” pero en verdad  señala obligaciones diversas para los ISPs y las empresas de  telecomunicaciones que les provean de servicios, entre las cuales está  la de no discriminación arbitraria en la capa de aplicaciones, servicios  o contenidos legales con efectos anticompetitivos.﻿ Sin embargo, la no discriminación es una obligación que ya está presente en la regulación sectorial chilena
Siminalry, NGO Derechos Digitales (Digital Rights), a Chilean non-governmental organization which defends online rights, also raised doubts about the law [es], stating that,
﻿La  consagración legal de la neutralidad no es absoluta, sino que se   configura como un derecho de los usuarios sujeto a límites importantes.   Por una parte, al establecer la ley que los prestadores de Internet “No   podrán arbitrariamente  bloquear, interferir, discriminar, entorpecer  ni restringir” el derecho  a usar contenidos y redes (Art. 24 H a), deja  abierta la posibilidad de  intervención en la medida en que ésta no  sera arbitraria.
﻿Junto  con lo anterior, la neutralidad es garantizada como un derecho a   utilizar contenidos o servicios y realizar actividades de carácter  legal a través de Internet sin dicha intervención discriminatoria. En  consecuencia, un uso ilegal  autorizaría al proveedor de conexión a  ejercer medidas contrarias al  principio de neutralidad.
The legal consecration of neutrality is not absolute, but rather it is configured as a right of the users subject to significant limits. On the one hand, by establishing the law that Internet providers “Can not arbitrarily block, interfere, discriminate, hinder or restrict” the right to use contents and networks (Art. 24 H a), it leaves open the possibility of intervention as long as it is not arbitrary.
Along with this, neutrality is guaranteed as a right to use contents and services and perform activities of a legal character through the Internet without such discriminatory intervention. Therefore, illegal use would allow the connection provider to pursue measures contrary to the principle of neutrality.
In short, the law is perceived as an interesting project in its intentions but unpredictable in its effects and scope. Many of its voids will be filled by a regulation that will be published in ninety days, but its content will not be part of public debate like the text of the law was. At the same time, it is interesting to note that the citizen organization, before the political initiative, is the group trying to face the challenges imposed by the digital world.