[A2k] French Parliament approves Net censorship

[Jérémie ZIMMERMANN - La Quadrature du Net]

La Quadrature du Net - For immediate release

Permanent link: http://www.laquadrature.net/en/french-parliament-approves-n=
et-censorship


French Parliament approves Net censorship



*** Paris, February 11th, 2010 - During the debate over the French security bill (LOPPSI), the government opposed all the amendments seeking to minimize the risks attached to filtering Internet sites. The refusal to make this measure experimental and temporary shows that the executive could not care less about its effectivity to tackle online child pornography or about its disastrous consequences. This measure will allow the French government to take control of the Internet, as the door is now open to the extension of Net filtering. ***


The refusal to enact Net filtering as an experimental measure is a proof of the ill-intended objective of the government. Making Net filtering a temporary measure would have shown that it is uneffective to fight child pornography.

As the recent move1 of the German government shows, only measures tackling the problem at its roots (by deleting the incriminated content from the servers; by attacking financial flows) and the reinforcement of the means of police investigators can combat child pornography.

Moreover, whereas the effectivity of the Net filtering provision cannot be proven, the French government refuses to take into account the fact that over-blocking - i.e the "collateral censorship" of perfectly lawful websites - is inevitable2. Net filtering can now be extended to other areas, as President Sarkozy promised to the pro-HADOPI ("Three-Strikes" law) industries3.

"Protection of childhood is shamelessly exploited by Nicolas Sarkozy to implement a measure that will lead to collateral censorship and very dangerous drifts. After the HADOPI comes the LOPPSI: the securitarian machinery of the government is being deployed in an attempt to control the Internet at the expense of freedoms", concludes Jérémie Zimmermann, spokesperson for La Quadrature du Net.


* Références *

1. See: http://www.spiegel.de/politik/deutschland/0,1518,676669,00.html

2. Every study, including the government's own impact assessment comes to that conclusion.

3. "The more we will be able to automatically depollute the networks and the servers from all sources of piracy, the less it will be necessary to take measures weighing on the end-users. [...] We must therefore experiment promptly filtering schemes." Speech to the world of culture: http://www.elysee=
.fr/download/?mode=press&filename=100107-discours-Voeux_culture.pdf



** About la Quadrature du Net **


La Quadrature du Net is an advocacy group that promotes the rights and freedoms of citizens on the Internet. More specifically, it advocates for the adaptation of French and European legislations to respect the founding principles of the Internet, most notably the free circulation of knowledge.

As such, La Quadrature du Net engages in public-policy debates concerning, for instance, freedom of speech, copyright, regulation of telecommunications and online privacy.

In addition to its advocacy work, the group also aims to foster a better understanding of legislative processes among citizens. Through specific and pertinent information and tools, La Quadrature du Net hopes to encourage citizens' participation in the public debate on rights and freedoms in the digital age.

La Quadrature du Net is supported by French, European and international NGOs including the Electronic Frontier Foundation, the Open Society Institute and Privacy International.

List of supporting organisations : http://www.laquadrature.net/en/they-supp=
ort-squaring-net-la-quadrature-du-net


** Press contact and press room **

Jérémie Zimmermann, jz@laquadrature.net, +33 (0)615 940 675

http://www.laquadrature.net/en/press-room




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