[P2P-F] Fwd: [opennetcoalition] Net Neutrality: France Is Playing The Telcos' Game

Wed Dec 3 12:19:35 CET 2014

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: La Quadrature du Net <contact at laquadrature.net>
Date: Wed, Dec 3, 2014 at 5:33 PM
Subject: [opennetcoalition] Net Neutrality: France Is Playing The Telcos'
Game
To: opennetcoalition at laquadrature.net

Themes: NET NEUTRALITY, FRANCE, AXELLE LEMAIRE,
COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION

La Quadrature du Net – For immediate release

Permanent link:
https://www.laquadrature.net/en/net-neutrality-france-is-playing-the-telcos-game

Net Neutrality: France Is Playing The Telcos' Game

*** Paris, 3 December, 2014 – Seven months after the historic vote in the
European Parliament on Net neutrality [1], the Council of the European
Union could soon bury this fundamental principle. While its inclusion in
French law could be debated in the coming months, it is high time for the
government to put an end to is doublespeak and supports an uncompromising
defense of Net Neutrality in front of its European partners. However, in
Brussels, the French government seems in tune with the lobbying of big
telecom operators. ***

On November 27th, nearly seven months after their predecessors historic
vote for a true protection of Net Neutrality, the new MEPs elected last
adopted a resolution [2] reaffirming this position [3].

In the meantime, the Council of the European Union – which as a European
co-legislator is now in charge of the legislative file – has postponed its
decision on the matter for lack of substantive agreement between Member
States. While the Italian Presidency of the Council seemed in favor [4] of
Net Neutrality a few months ago, its recently discussed [5] proposition
seeks to undo the protective definitions of Net Neutrality adopted by the
Parliament. It removes the guarantees of effective enforcement of citizens'
rights by allowing the prioritization of “specialized services”, thus
conforming to the demands of telecom lobbies who would like to make deals
with the big online services (such as Google or Netflix) and sell them
prioritized access to European Internet users.

Faced with divergent opinions in the Council, Member States have decided to
delay any agreement on the text, giving reasons to fear the upcoming
regulation might be dropped altogether and that they'll stick to the
dangerous status quo.

It is in this context that Axelle Lemaire, French minister for Digital
Affairs, announced [6] that the so-called "Digital Bill", scheduled for the
first quarter of 2015, would contain a section on Net Neutrality. The
announcement came as a surprise since Net Neutrality seemed to have been
discarded [7]. But the position defended by the French government during
the vote in the European Parliament last April as well as the recent
discussions in the European Council raises serious concerns. Furthermore,
seeing the minister for Digital Affair starting to use rhetoric elements
usually used by operators [8] also raises fears that this bill is primarily
meant to protect the interests of operators rather than the rights of
citizens.

The French Council of State's [9] recent report on rights in the digital
environment is an additional source of concern, as it backs the the
unfounded claims by operators that real Net Neutrality protections would
undermine investment in faster networks.

“It is high time for the French government to clarify its position on Net
Neutrality, both at the European and national level with the upcoming
Digital Bill. Last spring's large citizen mobilization and the EU
Parliament's historic vote in favor of true legal protections for the free
Internet must be fully taken into account. As ministers in charge of the
file, Axelle Lemaire and Emmanuel Macron (Minister of the Economy) must put
an end to their doublespeak and fight back the harmful influence of
dominant operators on telecom regulation to take a clear stand in favor of
Net Neutrality,” said Felix Tréguer, founding member of La Quadrature du
Net.

* References *

1. https://www.laquadrature.net/fr/node/8077
2.
http://www.europarl.europa.eu/sides/getDoc.do?pubRef=-//EP//TEXT+TA+P8-TA-2014-0071+0+DOC+XML+V0//EN
3. "The European Parliament […] 11. Urges the Council to make swift
progress and open negotiations with Parliament on the proposal for a
regulation laying down measures concerning the European single market for
electronic communications and to achieve a Connected Continent, as this
would, concretely, put an end to roaming charges inside the EU, provide
more legal certainty as regards net neutrality, and improve consumer
protection inside the digital single market; believes that this regulation
could constitute a crucial step towards realising a single European mobile
market; […] 14. Stresses that all internet traffic should be treated
equally, without discrimination, restriction or interference, irrespective
of its sender, receiver, type, content, device, service or application;"
4. https://www.laquadrature.net/fr/node/8231
5. https://www.laquadrature.net/fr/node/8875
6. "The Bill will introduce the principle of network neutrality in French
Law, with a promotion of interoperable and open formats and standards" in
https://www.contexte.com/article/numerique/le-projet-de-loi-numerique-commence-a-prendre-forme_26800.html
[FR]
7. For example in this interview (
http://www.nextinpact.com/dossier/735-interview-d%E2%80%99axelle-lemaire-secretaire-d%E2%80%99etat-au-numerique/2.htm
) [FR] or in front of the senators (
http://www.nossenateurs.fr/seance/11467#inter_ff654b1607675b81f20f3d7b6dac7f20
) [FR]
8. "Everything must be done to affirm Net Neutrality, and at the same time
letting space to innovation such as e-health and very high definition TV."
Les Echos, 27 September 2014 (
http://www.lesechos.fr/tech-medias/hightech/0203973232895-les-etats-europeens-se-dechirent-sur-la-fin-des-frais-ditinerance-pour-le-mobile-1069012.php
)
9. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conseil_d%27Etat_%28France%29

** About La Quadrature du Net **

La Quadrature du Net is an advocacy group that defends the rights and
freedoms of citizens on the Internet. More specifically, it advocates for
the adaptation of French and European legislations to respect the founding
principles of the Internet, most notably the free circulation of knowledge.

In addition to its advocacy work, the group also aims to foster a better
understanding of legislative processes among citizens. Through specific and
pertinent information and tools, La Quadrature du Net hopes to encourage
citizens' participation in the public debate on rights and freedoms in the
digital age.

La Quadrature du Net is supported by French, European and international
NGOs including the Electronic Frontier Foundation, the Open Society
Institute and Privacy International.

List of supporting organisations:
https://www.laquadrature.net/en/they-support-la-quadrature-du-net

** Press contact and press room **

contact at laquadrature.net, +33 (0)972 294 426

https://www.laquadrature.net/en/press-room

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