In this opinion, provided at the request of the Chairwoman of the commissie voor Grondwet en Institutionele vernieuwing van de Kamer van volksvertegenwoordigers (committee in charge of the constitution and institutional renewal of the Chamber of Representatives), the BIPT states that it sees no reason to embed a right to (access to) open and adequate Internet in the Constitution. In essence, it argues that
- sufficient tasks, principles and goals have been stipulated in the EU framework (namely in the 2015 Open Internet Regulation and the 2018 European Electronic Communications Code) ensuring that the Internet remains open and encouraging the government to tackle the remaining issues regarding the adequacy of the Internet
- the policies prescribed in Belgium are indeed implemented (the opinion lists a number of examples) and
- the current and future roll-out of fibre networks and 5G will only enhance the available network capacity, reducing the chances of congestion even further and increasing the possibilities to provide citizens with qualitative, innovative online services.
This document is not available in your language. However, you can consult it in the following language: (FR, NL)
- FR: Download document "Avis du 21 décembre 2021 concernant les propositions de loi portant révision de la Constitution afin d’ajouter le droit à un accès ouvert et/ou neutre et/ou suffisant à l’internet à l’article 23, alinéa 3, de la Constitution"
- NL: Download document "Advies van 21 december 2021 betreffende de wetsvoorstellen tot herziening van de Grondwet om het recht op een open en/of neutraal en/of toereikend internet toe te voegen aan artikel 23, derde lid, van de Grondwet"