dossier | La Quadrature du Net

dossier

ACTA: Through the loopholes of EU law

Submitted on 21 January 2010
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Next week, negotiating countries will meet for another round of talks on the infamous ACTA, which among other things aims at tackling the unauthorized sharing of cultural works over the Internet. In the past days, members of the European Commission sought to soothe parlementarians, public-interest groups and citizens by saying that the agreement would not go further than existing EU law.

Neelie Kroes, soon-to-be Commissioner for the Digital Agenda, commented the ACTA negotiations during her confirmation hearing on January 14th, saying that there will be no "harmonization by the back door". She also seemed to rule out any further harmonization of Intellectual Property Rights" (IPR) enforcement in Europe, and told reporters after the hearing that the "mere conduit" principle1 - a principle essential to Net neutrality and guaranteed by the e-Commerce directive - will be maintained.

But, as recent developements make clear, ACTA could severely impact Net neutrality and other founding principles of the Internet that ensure the proper exercise of fundamental rights and freedoms on the Internet, even without any change to EU law.

  1. 1. Mere conduit is guaranteed by article 12 of the 2002 e-Commerce directive. This principle sets a special liability regime for network operators by which they have no legal liability for the data transmitted via their networks

La Quadrature's response to the EU 2020 consultation

Submitted on 14 January 2010
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La Quadrature du Net submitted its response to the EU 2020 consultation launched by the President of the European Commission, José Manuel Barroso.

To make the knowledge society a reality, La Quadrature calls on the Commission to focus on Internet users' rights regarding access to information commons, particularly by mandating Net neutrality and reforming the European copyright regime.

Copyright: Towards a recognition of users' rights at WIPO?

Submitted on 23 December 2009
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Last week (December 14th-18th), the World Intellectual Property Organization's standing committee on copyright and related rights (SCCR) was considering, among other things1, a proposal by Brazil, Ecuador and Paraguay for an international treaty aimed at increasing the accessibility of books for blind people. The SCCR eventually decided to initiate "focused, open-ended consultations" regarding exceptions and limitations for print-disabled persons, and will then consider whether it is ready to move forward with a treaty.

  1. 1. For the full agenda, see http://keionline.org/node/721

ACTA, U.S Democracy and the Global Knowledge Economy

Submitted on 24 November 2009
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Eddan Katz 1 and Gwen Hinze 2 from the Electronic Frontier Foundation recently published a very insightful essay on the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) in the Yale Law Journal of International Law Online.

  1. 1. International Affairs Director, Electronic Frontier Foundation
  2. 2. International Policy Director, Electronic Frontier Foundation

Setting the record straight on Net neutrality and infrastructure investment

Submitted on 23 November 2009
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A new report by the U.S advocacy group Free Press provides clear evidence that, despite the claims of some Internet Serivce Providers, Net neutrality will not harm network investment. On the contrary, the report shows that legal protections in favor of an open Internet will have a positive impact on investment in both the network and applications markets.

Net Freedoms in Europe: Recapitulating the capitulation

Submitted on 31 October 2009
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The European Parliament delegation led by Catherine Trautmann recently gave up on protecting EU citizens against arbitrary restrictions of their Internet access. In order to reach an agreement and avoid a clash with Member States, the Parliament retracted its support to the core element of notorious "amendment 138" : prior judicial decision before restrictions to access and usage of the Internet. This protection of citizens' fundamental rights against arbitrary restrictions of their Internet access came a long way. Here is a little restrospective on the "stations of the cross" of amendement 138.

(See also the rewording of amendment 138, preserving its core principles while adressing legal uncertainty, that was transmitted to MEPs last week)

An evolution of "amendment 138"

Submitted on 30 October 2009
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Here is a comparison chart of the different versions of "amendment 138" along the whole co-decision procedure.







Denomination Wording of the text Quick analysis and references

Original amendment 138 voted on Sept 24th 2008

, 8.4.g of the Framework directive, tabled by Bono (PSE, FR), Cohn-Bendit (Greens, FR) and Roithova (EPP, CZ)

Memo: Improving Amendment 138 While Preserving its Core Principles

Submitted on 19 October 2009
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The Council of the European Union opposes amendment 1381 for reasons that are still unclear. However, the Commission has come up with a new proposal2, supposedly backed by the Council, which could allow for worrying exceptions to the fundamental rights guaranteed by Community law. However, there are good-faith concerns about the current wording of amendment 138. Although its core principles need to be preserved, amendment 138 can and should be improved to better respect the Community legal order.

This memo (download this memo as a PDF file) aims to:
i) point out the dangerous elements of the Commission's new proposal;
ii) outline various aspects of amendment 138 that could be improved to better fit Community law;
iii) explain how a reworded provision could preserve the core principles of amendment 138

  1. 1. Amendment 138: Article 8.4.g of the Framework Directive. (...) "No restriction may be imposed on the fundamental rights and freedoms of end-users, without a prior ruling by the judicial authorities, notably in accordance with Article 11 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union on freedom of expression and information, save when public security is threatened in which case the ruling may be subsequent."
  2. 2. Commission's new compromise proposal: Article 1.3.a of the Framework directive. "Measures taken by the Member States regarding end-users' access to and use of services and applications through electronic communications networks shall respect the fundamental rights and freedoms of natural persons, including in relation to privacy, freedom of expression and access to information and due process and the right to effective judicial protection in compliance with the general principles of Community law. Any such measure shall in particular respect the principle of a fair and impartial procedure, including the right to be heard. This paragraph is without prejudice to the competence of a Member State to determine in line with its own constitutional order and with fundamental rights appropriate procedural safeguards assuring due process. These may include a requirement of a judicial decision authorising the measures to be taken and may take account of the need to adopt urgent measures to be taken and may take account of the need to adopt urgent measures in order to assure national security, defence, public security and the prevention, investigation, detection and prosecution of criminal offences".

Net Neutrality: letter to the ministers in charge

Submitted on 24 September 2009
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La Quadrature du Net sent a letter to the French ministers in charge of the Telecoms Package to ask them to protect Net neutrality in the European Union, as they enter into final negotiations regarding this major reform.

Here is an english translation you can adapt to the context of your Member State:

Dear Minister,

Telecoms Package: preparation for a third reading

Submitted on 08 September 2009
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updated: Sept 21st.The list of MEPs that will be part of the EP delegation conciliation committee is now official.
updated: Sept 17th.European directives of the "Telecoms Package" are advancing through the codecision process of the EU. As soon as the Council of the EU formally rejects any amendment voted by the European Parliament in second reading1, the Telecoms Package will enter the conciliation procedure. In this closed negotiation (between 27 representatives of the Council of the EU and 27 representatives of the European Parliament), the fate of an open, free and neutral Internet in the EU will be decided. Here is a quick guide to understanding this procedure, and participating now to urge open-minded and progressive MEPs to take part in the conciliation committee (There are only a few days left as the decision are already taking place.).

  1. 1. This formal rejection of the European Parliament's 2nd reading amendments by the Council triggers the countdown to the conciliation phase. In practice, negotiations could start as soon as the composition of the conciliation committee is known.

It is crucial to save Net Neutrality!

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"Net neutrality". This obscure yet simple concept is the root of the development of the Internet as we know it. In the digital environment, it is the guarantee of competition, innovation, and fundamental freedoms. Until now, net neutrality has been the rule, both for technical and economical reasons. However, it is now under the threat of network operators1 who see business opportunities in discriminating information flowing through their networks. It is crucial to seize the opportunity of the third reading of the "Telecoms Package" directives to take strong measures aimed at protecting a free, open and innovative Internet within the European Union.

How French Presidency Hides a Political Laundering Inside EU Telecoms Package

Submitted on 20 November 2008
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Everybody agrees that European Union suffers from a democratic deficit which deepens the gap between European institutions and their citizens. What is more unknown is that one of main reasons for this is that Member States often use European Union to achieve what can be spelled as “political laundering”. The “Telecoms Package” gives a perfect example of such a deceptive maneuver, aimed at legalizing an european-wide "graduated response" against citizens, and stretching it even deeper as usual. How does it work?