French proposal: any URL to be arbitrarily blacklisted without due process

Sarkozy's latest plan for "civilizing" the Internet: a Great Firewall of France that government agencies to add URLs to without judicial oversight or public scrutiny on the basis of broad, nebulous criteria.

Information website PC INpact revealed today a draft executive order which would give the French government the power to arbitrarily censor any content or service on the Net. The French government is furthering its policy to control the Internet, in complete disregard of citizens' rights and freedoms.
To implement article 18 of the law for the Digital Economy of June 21th, 2004, the French government is proposing to give to several of its ministries the power to order the censorship of online content that harms or otherwise puts at risk public order and security, the protection of minors, of public health, national defence, or physical persons1.
Clearly, the definition of these categories of content are both vague and overreaching. Such censorship measures - whether they consist in the removal or filtering of content - would be directly undertaken by the government, without any decision by a judicial authority. In practice, they would apply to all kinds of websites or online news services2.

The Entire Internet Under Governmental Censorship In France?

I write books. My latest is a YA science fiction novel called Homeland (it's the sequel to Little Brother). More books: Rapture of the Nerds (a novel, with Charlie Stross); With a Little Help (short stories); and The Great Big Beautiful Tomorrow (novella and nonfic). I speak all over the place and I tweet and tumble, too.

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Anonymous

How long until Anonymous or Lulsec hacks them and adds every French government website to the blacklist?
Drabula

No doubt these western governments have been keeping on eye on the role of the net in middle east uprisings….as they talk out of one side of their mouths in support, they are issuing orders for a kill switch in their own countries. Look at recent US posturing about ‘cyber acts of war’ and well…..*sigh*…nevermind.
yopdiesel

I’ll leave France in a couple of months to go live in China. Yep, I’m 10 years ahead of my time…
Boba Fett Diop

Seems like this would pretty easily run afoul of articles 7, 13, and 14 of the Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen of 1793.

Perhaps Sarkozy should re-acquaint himself with that document, particularly articles 25, 27 and 33.
Anonymous

@delt664

“Why does French government hate the internet” would have been a better question.
afs97209

The French are gonna treat the internet like they treat hotel maids.
Anonymous

This is such a good idea that I propose it be applied to all government employees as well.

Anyone can make an accusation and the employee will be thrown in prison until such time they can prove they’re not guilty.
- Gulliver
  
  @ Anon #23
  
  This is such a good idea that I propose it be applied to all government employees as well.
  Anyone can make an accusation and the employee will be thrown in prison until such time they can prove they’re not guilty.
  
  Even the prison guards? Aim that policy at the policy-makers (politicians and top-level bureaucrats) and itâ€™ll be a better deterrent than aiming it at everyone who takes a government job. Someone’s gotta sweep the streets.
Anonymous

The problem I always see with things like this is just how close they are to the absurdity of shooting a hologram.

It’s a gardener dealing with a bush that grows faster than it can be managed, pruned and coaxed into a pretty, aesthetically pleasing figure. A detailed pruning and consideration of each branch is an extremely hard undertaking for an extrinsic entity, and broad samurai-like slashes hurt the plant, and the result is a horrible looking bush, very similar to what a childâ€™s attempt would look like.
Perhaps we are child-like in this game of governing ourselves.

They seem to not understand that their previously monolithic power to manage things, which, broadly speaking, used to be the only one in the land, can now exist outside of their turf too.

“The Land” literally has entities that can stand up as high as government in terms of capacity â€“ on this particular issue, mind you.

The Government group decides “We’ll do this”, and if enough people disagree with it, it actually is possible to stand up and say: “No, you won’t” and you are effectively capable of standing up by that in the face of the groupg charged with the function of managing things. People will swerve around the bars and manage themselves.

The dynamics of this interaction are much closer to a street-level altercation with a person with a different opinion than they are to the “Majestic and Unquestionable Power above dealing with the plebeians down below” picture.

There will be times where, at the end of the day, you have a group of human beings dealing with another group of human beings, both sides with the same technical capacity, and I think the group of human beings in government has to come to grips with the fact that its relationship with others is going to inevitably change, whether it likes it or not. It shouldn’t forget that it is there because the people decided to put it there, hundreds of years ago. It didn’t spring out of the ground, like some deity from mythology.

Some might see government as the father in this picture, and the people as the children. But this could just as easily be seen the other way around.

And I sincerely surprise myself sometimes by saying things like this. It seems impossible but it really isnâ€™t a stretch when you live in a world with situations that almost force you to think this.

But this is, of course, my own personal opinion.
DomoDomo

Do no harm ä¸ªå±.
gravytop

Syntax-check your first sentence … I think it’s missing a “may” or “can” between “agencies” and “to.”
Anonymous

So, this draft executive order is a “French proposal”?

Perhaps in the same way that extraordinary rendition is an “American proposal”?

If you mistake Sarkozy and his goons for “the French”, don’t be surprised when people mistake Bush and his goons for “the Americans”.
- Gulliver
  
  @ Anon #14
  
  So, this draft executive order is a “French proposal”?
  Perhaps in the same way that extraordinary rendition is an “American proposal”?
  If you mistake Sarkozy and his goons for “the French”, don’t be surprised when people mistake Bush and his goons for “the Americans”.
  
  Cory’s Canadian and makes his home in London. He did spend a year in residency at my alma mater, USC, and travels to the States frequently – and is welcome at my table any time – but he’s not technically an American citizen or resident.
  
  I believe he met this was a proposal of the French government, since it is common shorthand to designate a government by the country it governs. Rest assured, no thinking person would believe this kick in the teeth is what the French themselves want.
va-j-j

So the french government don’t know what dns servers are?
delt664

Why does France hate the internet?
Anonymous

jeez, our president is definitely a real douche… He seems to forget that people will have to vote next year… Hopefully my people won’t forget this when the election time comes…
Anonymous

Surely not the French?

Afterall, they created the International Olympic Committee and FIFA. Both obviously highly regarded for their lack of corruption.
pKp

While that’s obviously horrifying, I have little doubt that it will end up like HADOPI : the Conseil Constitutionnel (the organism tasked with checking the constitutionnality of new laws) will neuter it by imposing the presence of a judge somewhere in the loop. Not only are these guys relatively ethical, nearly all of them are old-school Gaulliste (traditional right) politicians who hate and despise Sarkozy, including the previous PrÃ©sident, Jacques Chirac.
That said, it is still pretty awful. I need to leave this country…
- Anonymous
  
  I need to leave this country…
  
  And go where? Where can you go that isn’t grinding down freedom, bit by bit?
Anonymous

The group in charge of this blacklist will be called the “ComitÃ© de salut public”.
- Gulliver
  
  @ Anon #10
  
  The group in charge of this blacklist will be called the “ComitÃ© de salut public”.
  
  That ain’t even funny.
  
  *shudders*
Cowicide

Fascism is the new due process.
Anonymous

No self respecting programmer will help build this, and as a result it will be fragile and easily broken.