Net neutrality means that all traffic must be treated equally by an internet service provider

Net neutrality policies usually focus on a few practices, including zero rating, which means that certain services or applications are free to use without a data plan or that traffic on those sites does not count towards data caps.

Others include speeding up or slowing down traffic to particular sites and services, in the first case in exchange for money and in the second to damage rival services.

The idea behind net neutrality is that it will create a level playing field for content providers or app developers, who will not see their product being degraded by a telco it is competing with.

Worldwide, many governments are legislating to enshrine net neutrality in law. EU Rules on net neutrality (or open internet) apply as of 30 April 2016, following the adoption of Regulation (EU) 2015/2120 on 25 November 2015. In the US, the Federal Communications Commission has also introduced net neutrality rules.