press release | La Quadrature du Net

press release

Gallo report: Amendments could overcome copyright dogmatism

Submitted on 08 March 2010
in

Strasbourg, March 8th, 2010 - Tonight, the JURI committee of the European Parliament will discuss the amendments tabled on the Gallo report1. This initiative report2 is a response to a communication of the Commission on "intellectual property rights" enforcement, which La Quadrature has already strongly criticized. To make sure that the Parliament promote the interest of European citizens, the report must be profoundly revised.

  1. 1. Update, March 10th: At the last minute, the meeting was postponed to a future date. The reasons for this delay remain undetermined.
  2. 2. A non-legislative position of the European Parliament preparing or encouraging a legislative initiative

Iceland to become a model for freedom of communication

Submitted on 15 February 2010
in

Paris, February 15th, 2009 - Tomorrow, a parliamentarian resolution will be submitted in Iceland in order to turn the country into a model for freedom of expression on the Internet. Far away from the conservative vision displayed by many confused governments who try to control freedom of communication on the Net through "three strikes", Internet blocking or the ACTA, this would be a historic event. La Quadrature du Net supports this project and congratulates the coalition of Icelandic Parliamentarians at the origin of the initiative.

French Parliament approves Net censorship

Submitted on 11 February 2010
in

Paris, February 11th, 2010 - During the debate over the French security bill (LOPPSI), the government opposed all the amendments seeking to minimize the risks attached to filtering Internet sites. The refusal to make this measure experimental and temporary shows that the executive could not care less about its effectivity to tackle online child pornography or about its disastrous consequences. This measure will allow the French government to take control of the Internet, as the door is now open to the extension of Net filtering.

Zelnik Report: denial of rights and business payed by taxpayers

Submitted on 19 January 2010
in

Paris, January 7th, 2010 - Today, the Zelnik report has been presented to the public by the French president. The publication of this report was postponed many times because the trio composing the mission had many difficulties in executing their instructions: finding new sources of funding for the chosen business models of the government, without recognizing any right for Internet users and citizens. The results are close to obscenity: by privileging public subsidies and tax credits, the report suggests charging all the taxpayers the price of a particular and dogmatic form of cultural commodification.

Commissioner Kroes commits herself to Net neutrality

Submitted on 15 January 2010
in

Paris, January 15th, 2010 - Yesterday, the ITRE committee of the European Parliament led the hearing of Commissioner-designate for the Digital Agenda, Mrs. Neelie Kroes.

Commissioner Kroes addressed a number of issues regarding freedoms in the networked society, expressing a positive opinion regarding amendment 1381 and praising interoperability standards. She also indicated her strong support in favor of Net neutrality.

  1. 1. Amendment 138 of the Telecoms Package, voted twice by an 88% majority of the European Parliament, provided that" no restriction may be imposed on the fundamental rights and freedoms of end-users, without a prior ruling by the judicial authorities". After strong opposition from the Member States, it was eventually replaced by a weaker provision in November 2009.

Sarkozy and the Internet: Between farce and alarming dogmatism

Submitted on 08 January 2010
in

Paris, January 8th, 2010 - Nicolas Sarkozy just announced that his government will seek to implement some of the recommandations of the Zelnik report. The report's main author is Patrick Zelnik, a producer and lobbyist for the music industry. The goal of these tailored provisions is to serve the interests of the President's friends. Although laughable, they reveal an alarming dogmatism in which the rights of the public and the general interest are denied in favor of a few helpless industries.... Mates come first!

Questions for the new European Commissioners

Submitted on 16 December 2009
in

Paris, December 16th, 2009 - 2 weeks after launching a consultation, la Quadrature du Net is submitting to the European Parliament a set of questions to be asked to the Commissioners designate.

Ask what the next European Commission will do for our Freedoms!

Submitted on 26 November 2009
in

Paris, November 26th 2009 - La Quadrature is calling on European citizens to submit questions aimed at finding out where the next European Commission (2010-2014) stands on EU citizens' fundamental freedoms on the Internet.

The Council of the European Union and the President of the European Commission, José Manuel Barroso, just agreed1 on a college of Commissioners designate. The Parliament will now conduct hearings2 before appointing the full college.

  1. 1. http://europa.eu/rapid/pressReleasesAction.do?reference=MEMO/09/522&format=HTML&aged=0&language=EN&guiLanguage=fr
  2. 2. More infos about the Commissionners hearings: http://www.laquadrature.net/wiki/Hearings_Commissioners

Telecoms Package: A Missed Opportunity for Citizen's Rights

Submitted on 24 November 2009
in

Paris, November 24th, 2009 - There is no reason to celebrate the general outcome of the Telecoms Package. The final text voted today is far from satisfactory: while it includes some consumer protections, they fall short of compensating for the various loopholes and threats to fundamental rights contained in the rest of the text.

One more breach to Net neutrality in Europe: Time to legislate

Submitted on 19 November 2009
in

Paris, November 19th, 2009 - In Spain, the mobile operator Vodafone is launching a new offer that violates the fundamental principle of Net neutrality. This is one more evidence that the "Telecoms Package", recently agreed upon by European lawmakers, fails to protect the egalitarian nature of the Internet. Urgent action is needed at the European level to enforce Net neutrality once and for all.

ACTA: Worldwide Net restrictions without public debate

Submitted on 12 November 2009
in

Paris, November 12th, 2009 - Since Spring 2008, The European Union, the United States, Japan, Canada, South Korea, Australia as well as a few other countries have been negotiating a trade treaty aimed at enforcing copyright and tackling counterfeited goods (Anti-Counterfeinting Trade Agreement or ACTA). The last round of negotiations, held in much secrecy last week in South Korea, was focused on the enforcement of so-called “intellectual property rights” on the Internet. La Quadrature puts together a web-dossier on ACTA and sends a letter1 to Christine Lagarde, French minister of the Economy, to ask that she publicly oppose the proposal regarding Internet regulation.

  1. 1. http://www.laquadrature.net/files/LaQuadratureduNet-20091112-Lettre_au_M...

Will the EP turns its back on Internet rights?

Submitted on 04 November 2009
in

Brussels, November 4th 2009 - On the eve of a crucial conciliation meeting that will decide on the fate of the "Telecoms Package", the European Parliament must decide whether it will keep its promise to protect citizens rights online. Will the European Parliament send a dangerous message to Member States by assenting to extrajudicial restrictions of Internet access? Should fundamental rights be sacrificed in an attempt to finish Telecoms Package at any cost?

"Three strikes" in Europe, on Wednesday?

Submitted on 02 November 2009
in

Paris, November 2nd, 2009 - The negotiations on the Telecoms Package might come to a close on Wednesday. The Council of the European Union is still pushing for "three strikes" policies in Europe but is also attempting to allow private corporations to restrict citizens' Internet access. Will the European Parliament continue to hide behind a disputable legal argumentation provided by the rapporteur Catherine Trautmann, and accept the unacceptable for the future of Internet access in Europe?

A campaign page1 has been set up to allow everyone to contact Members of the European Parliament and urge them to refuse any proposal from the Council allowing "three strikes" policies in Europe, and to explicitly protect EU citizens' freedom to access the Net.
  1. 1. Campaign page: http://www.laquadrature.net/wiki/URGENT_action_Parliament_about_to_autho...

HADOPI 2 validated, a defeat for the rule of Law

Submitted on 24 October 2009
in

Paris, October 24th, 2009. On Thursday, the Constitutional Council gave its decision1 on HADOPI 2, the legislative patch proposed by the French government in order to cricumvent the Council's refusal of the core provisions of HADOPI 1. La Quadrature du Net deplores a weak decision that does not correspond to the progressive protection granted in the decision on HADOPI 1, which recognized the Internet as instrumental to the freedom of expression and communication. It is a sad news for democracy and the rule of law, and the beginning of the failure of this new attempt to enforce a copyright regime that is fundamentally unadapted to the digital age.

  1. 1. Read the decision: Voir la décision sur le site du Conseil constitutionnel : http://www.conseil-constitutionnel.fr/conseil-constitutionnel/root/bank_...

Amendment 138 dead by lack of courage of the Parliament

Submitted on 21 October 2009
in

Strasbourg, October 21st, 2009 - Yesterday, representatives of the European Parliament, an institution that ordinarily prides itself for protecting human rights at home and abroad, decided to surrender to the pressure exerted by Member States. The Parliament gave up on amendment 138, a provision adopted on two occasions by an 88% majority of the plenary assembly, and which aims at protecting citizens' freedom in the online world. Instead of ensuring that no restriction to Internet access would be imposed without the prior ruling of a judge, amendment 138 will instead be replaced by a weak provision1, that does not carry any new important safeguard for citizen's freedoms.

  1. 1. See the exact wording: http://www.laquadrature.net/wiki/EP_Flawed_Proposal_20091020#This_wordin...