Under the new rules, Internet access providers like phone and cable companies will be able to slow or block content and services on their networks only in response to court orders, to maintain network security or to temporarily ease congestion. Companies like Vodafone and Deutsche Telekom will still be able to offer premium services like video on demand as long as they are not provided in a way that hurts competing services like, say, Amazon.

Most phone and cable companies say they have no intention of blocking or slowing down content deliberately, but they have also indicated that they would like to charge businesses that transmit a lot of data like Google (which owns YouTube) fees to deliver that information to consumers. They contend that such fees, which would be apart from the monthly charges customers pay for Internet access, are necessary to help pay for upgrades to their networks.

These arguments might suggest that phone and cable companies are in financial distress and are selling service to consumers at a loss. But the reality is far different. Profits at big phone and cable companies are growing and some businesses like Comcast and Vodafone are spending billions of dollars on acquisitions.

The Internet has become a vital global utility, and phone and cable companies, which often have a near monopoly on broadband service in the areas that they serve, should not be allowed to block or slow down content. Such practices would create a two-tiered network in which successful businesses like Netflix and Apple would be able to pay to have their data transmitted on the fast lane while everybody else would be stuck in a slow lane.

Americans like to criticize for the often plodding decision-making process in Europe. But at least in the case of the Internet, lawmakers and regulators in Washington could learn something from their European counterparts. The vice president of the European Commission, Neelie Kroes, has said the Continent’s Internet rules should be finalized by the end of the year.