The GILC News Alert is the newsletter of the Global Internet Liberty Campaign, an international coalition of organizations working to protect and enhance online civil liberties and human rights. ================================================================= [2] Showdown looms for controversial French digital economy bill ================================================================= The French Senate is expected to start discussions soon on a proposal that critics say will erode civil liberties online. The French digital economy bill (known as le projet de loi sur la confiance dans l'économie numérique or LEN), which is supposed to help France comply with a June 2000 European Union (EU) directive, includes language that would make Internet service providers liable for content on websites that they host. More specifically, they would have to "act promptly" to take down material "after becoming aware of their unlawful nature" or face legal retribution-a process that currently requires judicial approval. The bill also essentially eliminates the doctrine that email should be treated as "private correspondence," creating the possibility that such messages can be more easily intercepted by third parties. The French Senate is expected to debate the proposal on 8 April 2004; the National Assembly has already adopted a version of the bill. The plan have drawn fire from several quarters for months. Reporters Sans Frontieres (RSF-a GILC member) has warned: "If the LEN is approved, excessive Internet censorship is likely to ensue." Similar concerns have been expressed by Imaginons un Reseau Internet Solidaire (IRIS-a GILC member), which has started an anti-LEN petition drive. For an IRIS report on LEN (with in-depth analysis of key LEN provisions and a proposal for modifications), click http://www.iris.sgdg.org/info-debat/comm-point-len0304.html For more about LEN as well as the IRIS petition drive, see http://www.iris.sgdg.org/actions/len To read RSF's comments on the plan, click http://www.rsf.fr/article.php3?id_article=9714 ========================================================= [7] European Parliament approves EuroDMCA ========================================================= The European Parliament has approved a proposal that would dramatically expand the powers of intellectual property holders. The European Intellectual Property Enforcement Directive supposedly will simplify the enforcement of copyrights, patents, and trademarks throughout the continent. Among other things, the proposal includes provisions that essentially will give intellectual property holders broad subpoena powers to collect personal information. The plan also will increase civil liability for infringements even if done accidentally, unknowingly or for non-commercial purposes. The proposal's general outlines have drawn comparisons to the much-maligned United States Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA), which contains analogous language. The European Parliament approved the Directive last month by a vote of 307 to 185. Many groups blasted the decision; Robin Gross, the executive director of IP Justice (a GILC member), charged: "Traditional civil liberties, fairness, balance, and proportionality have all be thrown to the wind in the over-zealous rush to pass this dangerous directive." Similar concerns were aired by the European Digital Rights Initiative, which warned that the plan's broad scope could be abused: "This directive should be targeted at organised crime, not teenage file-sharers and their parents." The proposal will now go the European Council of Ministers, who are expected to adopt the measure soon, leaving European Union countries about two years to implement legislation at the national level in order to conform with the Directive. The IP Justice press release is posted at http://www.ipjustice.org/CODE/release20040309_en.shtml An EDRI commentary on the Directive is posted under http://edri.org/cgi-bin/index?id=000100000139 Read "EU backs tighter laws on piracy," BBC News Online, 9 March 2004 at http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/3545839.stm ================================================================ [19] International cybercrime treaty enters into force ================================================================ A controversial new cybercrime treaty has come into force, albeit in just a few countries. The Council of Europe's Convention on Cybercrime, would, among other things, require countries to authorize government agents to install spytools on the servers of Internet service providers (ISPs) and thereby intercept all Internet transmissions that come through their servers. The treaty requires signatory nations to comply with foreign investigators, even when they are investigating activities that are not crimes on domestic soil. The Convention, however, does not require countries to enact any specific procedural protections. Many groups have severely criticized the treaty for years as a serious threat to online privacy. While representatives from several dozen nations have signed the Convention in 2001, few of those countries have actually ratified the pact since then. Several weeks ago, Lithuania became only the fifth country to ratify the Convention (joining Hungary, Croatia, Estonia and Albania), thereby at least fulfilling the treaty's requirement that five nations must ratify the treaty before it can become effective. However, the Convention still does not have the force of law beyond those 5 countries. Despite a letter from United States President George W. Bush late last year urging the U.S. Senate to "give its advice and consent to ratification," the Senate has yet to take action. Moreover, there is no word as to whether other signatories (notably Great Britain, France and Germany) will ratify the Convention any time soon. A Council of Europe press release on this subject is posted at http://press.coe.int/cp/2004/135a(2004).htm Read Estelle Dumout, "Council of Europe ratifies cybercrime treaty," ZDNet France, 22 March 2004 at http://news.zdnet.co.uk/0,39020330,39149470,00.htm The text of the treaty is available via http://conventions.coe.int/Treaty/EN/WhatYouWant.asp?NT=185 To read the text of President Bush's message, click http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2003/11/20031117-11.html ================================================================ ----- End forwarded message ----- _______________________________________________ Politech mailing list Archived at http://www.politechbot.com/ Moderated by Declan McCullagh (http://www.mccullagh.org/)
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