http://www.theinquirer.net/gb/inquirer/news/2008/06/10/french-government-decides
French Government decides to censor the Internet
Keep your Égalité and Fraternité but shove your Liberté!
By Sylvie Barak: Tuesday, 10 June 2008, 7:48 PM
THE FRENCH GOVERNMENT has apparently decided that it doesn't much like
being democratic, and that it would rather like to censor the Internet
instead.
Not content with simply limiting itself to blocking despicable child ***
abuse, a move three major ISPs in the US also agreed to today, the
French government feels it necessary to go a radical step further and
decide for its citizens whether or not they can view content it
considers inappropriately racist and or linked to terrorism.
In fact, worse still is that any site is now game for a French blockade,
as Sarkozy's government is inviting people to send in huge long lists of
sites which offend their delicate sensibilities. The French government,
which will pur****tedly be able to receive complaints from Internet users
in real time, will be able to add sites to a so called "black list",
which it will then force national ISPs to block.
The move, announced by France's Interior Minister, Michel Alliot-Marie,
is France's way of showing it is indeed taking a strong stand against
cyber-criminality, but it seems that the line between 'strong' and
'authoritarian' is a little fuzzy on this one.
Alliot-Marie, only caring to justify the block on child *** abuse sites,
noted "Other democracies have done it. France could wait no longer". She
added that all of France's Internet Service Providers had agreed to
comply with the new regulations which go into effect as of September.
The minister vehemently denied that the French government was turning
itself into "a Big Brother of the Internet" and promised that the
"fundamental liberty that is Internet access" would continue to thrive.
As long as people only see the sites the government allows them to see,
of course.
© Incisive Media Investments Ltd. 2008
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