The government wishes to extend and make more effective the procedure for blocking certain sites condemned by the courts. – VALINCO / SIPA
- The government will extend the procedure for blocking certain websites, via an amendment to the “separatism” bill.
- “The idea is to rewrite the LCEN to broaden the scope of the players concerned by court decisions leading to blocking measures”, explains the office of the Secretary of State for Digital.
- “The” Participatory Democracy “platform, banned in France since 2018, is clearly in the crosshairs,” explains LREM deputy Eric Bothorel, behind this amendment.
It is a text which almost went unnoticed… Adopted on April 2 in the Senate within the framework of article 19 of the bill reinforcing the respect for the principles of the Republic – the “separatism” bill -, an amendment modifying
the Law for Confidence in the Digital Economy (LCEN) will soon allow the courts to benefit from more extensive powers to block certain websites in France. Whether they are sites promoting terrorism or other platforms already targeted by a ban.
Aware that the blocking measures currently in force can be very easily bypassed, the government is therefore today taking advantage of its controversial bill to try to rectify the situation. The court decisions ordering the blocking of websites, which until now mainly imposed on Internet service providers (ISPs) and hosts based in France, will be extended “to any person” likely to contribute to the blocking a mirror site [copie exacte d’un autre site web].
“Give justice the means to act by taking into account technological developments”
The government considers that the legislation no longer makes it possible today to respond effectively to requests for the closure of sites. “Recent technological developments are leading to the proliferation of the type of actors who can be usefully called upon to put an end to illegality. The idea is to rewrite the LCEN to widen the scope of the actors concerned by court decisions leading to blocking measures ”, confirms to 20 minutes the cabinet of Cédric O, the Secretary of State for Digital.
“It is therefore necessary to broaden the scope of the actors referred to in article 6 of the LCEN to all the actors having the possibility of taking measures to prevent or put an end to damage caused by the content of a service, such as blocking a website or removing content, ”says the government. He cites, by way of example, “the emergence of the new” DNS over HTTPS “protocol, which allows sites to be accessed by entering their address without this request being read by a third party.
Today, anyone can modify provisions in their browser that make it difficult to block mirror sites.
With the amendment adopted in @Senate, Justice may order the actors concerned by this procedure to apply the law #Republican Principles@ebothorel pic.twitter.com/mwc5vKVjm7– Cedric O (@cedric_o) April 2, 2021
“The blocking of sites today relies mainly on hosts and Internet service providers, almost exclusively targeting domain names. However, there are alternatives to escape this restriction, such as changing the DNS [“système de noms de domaine”] on the computer ”, also specifies to 20 minutes Eric Bothorel, LREM deputy for Côtes-d’Armor, behind this amendment which should be back in the joint committee at the National Assembly next Thursday. “With the accelerated procedure and an extension of the perimeter of the players, this future framework offers the possibility of entering a browser editor, but also other intermediaries, such as the managers of CloudFlare [entreprise américaine qui propose un réseau de distribution de contenu] “.
The “Participatory Democracy” platform in the sights
For MP Eric Bothorel, it is inconceivable that content deemed totally illegal could still be accessible to the general public. “What prompted me to propose this amendment was the publication in August, on the“ Participative Democracy ”site, of ignoble photos and comments targeting Charline Fouchet and her humanitarian colleagues from Acted, brutally murdered. in Niger during a terrorist attack. After a complaint from Charline’s family, this platform – access to which has already been blocked by the courts in 2018 – was again banned in December by the Paris court. But it unfortunately reappears each time with a different extension, ”explains the parliamentarian from Côtes-d’Armor.
This openly racist and anti-Semitic platform is clearly in the crosshairs of this amendment, admits the deputy. “But there are other equally dangerous sites. It is therefore necessary to have provisions which make it possible to make these sites or content inaccessible in an efficient and rapid manner. It is essential to take into account technological developments in order to adapt to the various threats that hover over this type of platform. If we do nothing today, tomorrow will be even worse, ”adds Eric Bothorel, who denies going overboard or into a society of control and surveillance. Big Brother.
Because this amendment targeting “any person” likely to contribute to the access restrictions raises some concerns. “It will not be an administrative decision, as some may fear, but a court decision. The objective is not to attack simple individuals… It is a real advance, an important measure, at a time when one asks the question whether it is wise to entrust the keys. regulation [modération des contenus] to digital players, for lack of legal resources and inability to act within a relatively short timeframe ”, specifies the parliamentarian.
This new measure will therefore soon strengthen the arsenal made available to judges, who will have more power. According to the latest officially published figures, 312 requests for site blocking were filed in 2016, including 244 for child pornography and 68 for content condoning terrorism. More than 1,400 content removal requests were also filed in 2016, with more than 850 delisting requests.