When net neutrality is not broken

Net neutrality means an ISP treats all traffic equally, without favouring one service or customer over another. A difference in speed or access does not break it when the website or the device caused that difference rather than the ISP.

When the website sets the rule

A website can make its own rules about who sees what. For example, a school's learning site lets pupils who log in download the full revision packs, while visitors who are not signed in see only a sample page. The ISP still carries the school's pages to everyone in the same way, so the signed-in pupils getting more is the website's decision. The ISP is not favouring or slowing particular traffic, so net neutrality is not broken.

When the device has its own limit

Devices have different maximum download speeds. An old tablet may load a video more slowly than a new laptop on the same home network, because the tablet's hardware cannot handle as much data at once. The internet connection is the same for both; the older device simply cannot make use of all the speed available. The difference comes from the device, not from the ISP treating one service or customer unequally, so net neutrality is not broken.

Who caused the difference?

If the ISP is favouring or disadvantaging particular traffic, that is a breach. If the difference comes from the website's own rules or the device's own limits, it is not.