<nettime> FRANCE DID IT

[lagadu@altern.org]

Problems while posting, sorry if crossposting occurs

Hi


France did it. The "Liberty of audivisual communication" has been voted on June
28th.  It will apply in a few days, after publication in the Official Journal.
AlternB, the famous non-commercial service provider is closed for now. Others
will follow.

It is obvious that this bill of law  will lead to more constraints and trials
than before.  It puts heavy duties on service providers (whether they are
commercial or not),and webmasters criminalized public expression and
dramaticcaly restrains freedom of expression.

Chris

Brief summarize :

Art 46-7
- Providers must inform about and provide some filtering tools

Art 46-8
- Providers must proceed to appropriate diligences when asked by a third party
(non identified and whith no special form) appropriate diligences have been
defined in the discussion of the law as : check the existence of the illicit
content, put the third party and the author/editor in contact, inform about
procedures, make sure that the complaignant will seize the justice or seize it
himself, forbid access to the illicit content.

This article is particularly ambiguous for the providers as well as for the
persons publishing.  Despite the precision made by mme Tasca saying that (1)
forums and chats (no mention of newsgroups or mailing lists per se)are not
concerned by this text, it is obvious that, archiving beeing equivalent to
permanent storage and publication, there will be (there are already) complaints
against such posted messages on the pretext they are illicit or prejudicial.

Art 46-9
- providers have to keep and store datas allowing identification and these
datas are protected against other uses than requests from judicial authorities
- providers have to provide technical means to collect identification as
defined in art 46-10.
These datas ARE NOT explicitely protected against commercial uses.

Art 46-10
Physical persons have an obligation of identification before any publication.
They are allowed to use a pseudo or to "publish anonymously" IF they indicate
the name and registered offices of their provider, to whom they will have given
their name, firstname and adress.
THIS IS WHAT THEY CALL A LAW PROTECTING FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION ON THE NET AND
SECURING ANONYMITY.

Under the pretext of everyone's responsability, which nobody contests and is
enforced by the laws which apply to tne net as well, everyone is considered to
be possibly guilty. The innocence presomption is not respected, the right to
freely express oneself is not respected, the natural anonymity of speach is not
respected.

This amendment in its totality and its last article in particular are not
acceptable. We lost a battle, but the war is on.

Collectif Vos Papiers !


www.lantre.org/vospapiers
www.iris.sgdg.org
http://www.assemblee-nationale.fr/2/2textes-a.html
http://www.assemblee-nat.fr/2/cra/2000062821.htm#P142_33925

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