France considering new rules for web 2.0

(Dieser Artikel ist auch in deutscher Sprache verfügbar)

A French Parliamentary report suggests a change in the law (LCEN) that
implements the European Directive on e-commerce in order to make clearer the
distinction between editing and hosting activities in the new applications
related to Web 2.0.

The report of the Deputy Jean Dionis du Séjour on the application of the
LCEN was updated on 16 April 2008, after the first version was submitted to
the Parliament on 23 January. The update concerns some of the latest court
decisions in France that established the responsibility of some websites for
others’ RSS feeds or for user-generated content. The report specifies that
the law has created a hosting status that is different from that of an
editor and that “this distinction must not be emptied by the court
decisions.”

The report also claims that the law needs to be changed in order to comply
with the new applications available, such as hosting collaboratives websites
or online auctions. This could be helpful in order to avoid the situation
already presented in EDRi-gram, when Paris Tribunal condemned 3 different
French websites for linking to another website containing gossip information
on a French actor.

But the report also suggests increasing the obligations on the hosting
companies, especially by making public the methods used to fight illegal
activities, that would prove their good will. This provision could be
enforced by an independent authority, like the French Data Protection
Authority (CNIL).

But the French Government does not seem to share this opinion. The new State
Secretary in charge with information society, Eric Besson, made clear in
the first public appearance that he didn’t think that the law needed to be
changed. “I will not be the Minister of Internet castration” he declared in
a public meeting to Dailymotion, one of the biggest video-sharing French
websites.

Since Mr. Besson has an objective to present to the French Government by 31
July 2008 the new plan on information society, he may discuss also the
problems of the new type of applications on the Internet.

Do we need a law to regulate web 2.0 ? (only in French, 16.04.2008)
http://www.01net.com/editorial/378317/faut-il-une-loi-pour-reguler-le-web-2.0-./

Information report on the application of the LCEN (only in French,
16.04.2008)
http://www.assemblee-nationale.fr/13/rap-info/i0627.asp

Eric Besson ready to re-discuss the hosters status (only in French,
16.04.2008)
http://www.zdnet.fr/actualites/internet/0,39020774,39380497,00.htm

EDRi-gram: France: Linking can be damaging to your pockets (9.04.2008)
http://www.edri.org/edrigram/number6.7/linking-decison-france