Parliament endorses new net censorship in consumer law

While the main players in the United States finally begin to understand the danger of the situation (finally, they are there strengths), France as a good little Atlanticist doggie is always 4 trains behind… And the only sector of the economy that was doing more or less well, they will succeed in stopping it… It makes you wonder when even… ??? : (((

Paris, December 17, 2013 — During the second reading of the law Project relating to consumption, the National Assembly yesterday adopted Articles 25 and 49, effectively authorizing the Ministry of the Economy (via the DGCCRF) to have any site that contravenes the Consumer Code blocked by legal means. It is a question once again of consecrating the blocking of Internet sites, in spite of the strong criticisms expressed against this mode of regulation, in particular by the UN rapporteur for freedom of expression.

Articles 25 and 49 of the consumer bill adopted yesterday by the National Assembly will give the Directorate General for Competition, Consumer Affairs and Fraud Prevention (DGCCRF) the power to ask the judicial authority , in the event of violation of numerous provisions of the Consumer Code, to impose on any host or, failing that, on any Internet access provider, "all proportionate measures to prevent damage or put an end to damage caused" through content accessible online. And this despite the two amendments1 tabled by Lionel Tardy alerting the deputies to the dangers of these provisions, and offering them the opportunity to oppose them before the final adoption of the text.

This new measure confirms the orientation adopted by the current government and the parliamentary majority, which are multiplying legislative projects extending Internet censorship, while refusing to assess the effectiveness and risks inherent in these practices. Whether judicial – as is the case here – or private – as in the so-called bill against prostitution system "or in the bill" for equality between women and men – Internet censorship carries inherent technical risks of overblocking and disproportionately infringes freedom of expression. By voting in favor of Net censorship, the legislator is renouncing to promote more effective and much less dangerous modes of regulation in terms of fundamental rights (such as the blocking of financial flows).

“This law once again trivializes the blocking of sites as a means of regulating freedom of communication on the Internet, despite the serious risks inherent in this type of measure, such as the overblocking of perfectly legal content. To tackle commercial sites that do not comply with French law, it is much easier, effective but also proportionate in terms of fundamental rights to attack monetary flows rather than information flows. Continuing the dangerous repressive policies of their predecessors2, the government and the legislator are stubborn in their attempt to control the Internet, and remain deaf to calls to protect in practice the freedom of communication online”, says Félix Tréguer, co-founder of the association La Quadrature du Net.

source: Laquadrature.net

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