Net neutrality exceptionality: A look into the Pacific Alliance countries during the COVID-19 Pandemic and lessons for Asia Pacific economics

The growing relevance that the Internet has taken on the development of people, businesses, and the digital economy, as well as its influence in achieving the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, has motivated States to generate different regulatory frameworks to ensure the proper functioning of the network. One of the most outstanding elements of these frameworks is ensuring access and use without discrimination for those on the net through the principle of net neutrality. This principle has been embodied in domestic and international regulations, including preferential and free trade agreements. Nevertheless, in the context of the COVID-19 crisis, some governments needed to deviate from this principle due to the increased Internet usage for education, health, and teleworking-related purposes. In that context, this paper analyses how the Pacific Alliance economies (Chile, Colombia, Peru, and Mexico) have regulated and managed the net neutrality principle in the COVID-19 context and draws some lessons for Asia Pacific economies. It features case studies, focusing on how the Pacific Alliance instruments and its members have addressed and incorporated the net neutrality principle. It also briefly addresses the state of progress in selected Asia Pacific economies, APEC and ASEAN. Comparative matrices of how the Member States of the Pacific Alliance have used their existing policy space or modified their regulations concerning the application of the net neutrality principle during the COVID-19 crisis are developed. The findings exposed the critical role of the Internet and net neutrality in development, prompting efforts to ensure equal access and combat technical discriminatory practices. In the Asia-Pacific region, discussions exist, but concrete regulations are scarce. The Pacific Alliance's binding agreements and work instruments on NN and Regional Digital Market offer valuable best practices for the region to overcome this challenge and promote equitable digital development