Lawmakers in France have approved the draft of a law that would enable ISP-level Internet filtering.
Dubbed the Loppsi II bill, the measure passed a National Assembly vote in a count of 312 to 214 reports the Good Gear Guide. The bill will next be read in the Senate, which could be its final reading if no amendments are introduced, as the government has pinned an “urgent” tag on the bill.
Among the bill’s Internet measures are provisions to make online identity theft a crime and allow police to tap Net connections, in addition to allowing authorities to order ISPs to filter Internet connections to remove child pornography materials.
Critics of the bill are concerned that any Internet filtering could lead to more widespread government induced censorship online.
Other parts of the bill deal with “boosting the amount the police spend on ‘security,’ multiplying penalties for counterfeiting checks or credit cards, increasing use of CCTV cameras, extending access to the police national DNA database and authorizing the seizure of vehicles driven without a license.”
It’s estimated that the filtering technology would cost France €140 million (approximately $190.0 million U.S.)and would be “largely ineffective” against the distribution of child pornography, which experts say is done via P2P networks.
Comments
Re: France One Step Closer to Net Filtering
That's actually not that bad. In Germany, there's plans to regulate the internet as if it was public TV, including making access providers and hosters liable for any content they serve, mandatory age ratings, limited "broadcast" time for content according to age ratings (No kidding - pages with 16+ rated content would have to go offline from 6am to 10pm) and blocking access to foreign content that doesn't comply with this (which given the ridiculousness of all this is basically "blocking access to foreign content").
The law to block access to child pornography was signed into law on the 17th, so we're still ahead of the French. (Although the government promised not to apply it.) Meanwhile, the hearing about the petition to stop this law (a petition which was started as soon as the plans for this law were made public) will be on the 22nd, after the bill was debated, voted on, passed and signed into law and there's nothing that can be done about it - go democracy.
Re: France One Step Closer to Net Filtering
I'm sorry but I can't stand your arguement. "that's actually not that bad, [because it's worse in germany". No.
This is bad. This is wrong. Censorship is absolutely unacceptable. And the fact that it's worse in Germany does NOT make this "not that bad". That's the equivalent of saying raping 10 children "is not that bad" because you could have raped 15.
No. I'm sorry but no.
Re: France One Step Closer to Net Filtering
Wasn't my intention to say that.
Re: France One Step Closer to Net Filtering
It seems that every day, Western Civilization is going full-circle back to authoritative oppression. Hopefully, the next dominant civilization will learn from our mistakes.
Re: France One Step Closer to Net Filtering
Hehe, nice bit of humor there.
Politicians learning from past mistakes, that's a good one.
Re: France One Step Closer to Net Filtering
Yeah...censorship is the wrong idea. Yes, child porn is bad. So don't censor it, and instead track the bastards actually doing it with their IP addresses. Kill it at the source, and you don't act like a dick by proposing internet filters.
Re: France One Step Closer to Net Filtering
Actually those costs are probably just for state administration of the censorship and some offsets for ISP's, the costs of actual filter boxes etc for the numbers of users in France would be well in excess of that number.
Either which way, sounds like it's time for another French revolution imo. I'm pretty sure the guilloitines could be dusted off and put back in to working order. Viva la revolution, viva la France!!
ps. I'm Australian, so I have a vested interest in not seeing a western democracy implementing censorship which might convince our peabrained communications minister that somehow it's okay because someone else has done it...
Re: France One Step Closer to Net Filtering
"It’s estimated that the filtering technology would cost France €140 million (approximately $190.0 million U.S.)and would be “largely ineffective” against the distribution of child pornography, which experts say is done via P2P networks."
Largely ineffective? Wow, just pathetic for the amount france is spending.
http://www.magicinkgaming.com/
http://www.killatia.com/
Re: France One Step Closer to Net Filtering
Yes, because state censorship always works so well.