The guidelines will replace the original net neutrality rules, passed last October and criticised for the exceptions they included for “specialised services” and “class-based discrimination”, among other potential loopholes. Compared to those, BEREC seems to now have walked back from most of the controversial language, according to DSLReports.

Access Now, which actively participated in the net neutrality debates through the SavetheInternet.eu coalition, hailed the end result “just about perfect”.

However, on the issue of zero-rating, the guidelines didn’t take a strong position but leave it to national regulators to assess its application on a case-by-case basis, Ars Technica reported.

The Body of European Regulators of Electronic Communication (BEREC), which was tasked with the creation of the EU guidelines on net neutrality, received about 500,000 responses during the public consultation period on the issue. The full guidelines and a separate consultation report can be downloaded on BEREC’s website.