Slashdot Mirror

← Back to Stories (view on slashdot.org)

The French Government Can Now Censor the Internet

Posted by Soulskill on from the think-of-le-children dept.

Psychophrenes writes "A new episode in French internet legislation — French ministers have passed a bill (original in French) allowing the government to add any website to a black list, which access providers will have to enforce. This black list will be defined by the government only, without requiring the intervention of the legal system. Although originally intended against pedo-pornographic websites, this bill is already outdated, as was Hadopi in its time, and instead paves the way for a global censorship of the 'French internet.'"

8 of 419 comments (clear)

  1. How long does it take... by fluch · · Score: 4, Insightful

    ...that Wikileaks is on that list? Or similar sites?

  2. Business as usual by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

    The business of government only expands in power and revenue throughout its lifetime, never willingly or permanently reducing power or revenue. History has proven this over and over again, to the point where one could argue that the entire objective of government is power and revenue.

    I remain absolutely shocked that the common man doesn't consider this a giant red flag.

    1. Re:Business as usual by IgnoramusMaximus · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Governments are like nuclear power. If left unchecked they will kill a lot of people, screw up the neighborhood for generations and cause loss of standard of living for a lot other people. In the extreme, they can be used as a weapon and cause far more damage yet.

      On the other hand, given enough containment and backup control systems, they can be the most powerful source of help in everyday life to a lot of people.

      So where the challenge truly lies is in engineering such containment and control (see for example: the US Constitution) and then maintaining it. But when citizens willing to fight for their rights to the death are replaced with the likes of lardy American Idol fans, there is simply no one left to look after rusty, sieve-like containment vessels.

      And so, unfortunately, most governments on the planet today are in various stages of performing their Chernobyl thing.

    2. Re:Business as usual by Jackie_Chan_Fan · · Score: 4, Insightful

      You're a fucking moron. Its that simple.

      "even those who dont want/need it"

      Who the fuck doesnt want or need health insurance?

      Everyone needs it... you may not need it now, but you may need it tomorrow when you finally get that lump in your neck looked at.

  3. Oops by DoofusOfDeath · · Score: 5, Insightful

    There goes that "Liberté" thing you fought for. Better luck next time.

  4. Re:I can't believe the French just gave in on this by circletimessquare · · Score: 4, Insightful

    it's not a labor issue. the french will burn down their cities on any minor issue having to do with labor laws

    likewise, americans don't consider themselves free until everyone is walking around with unconcealed submachine guns. labor issues? not so much a concern

    all nationalities have their quirky interpretation of what "free" means

    --
    intellectual property law is philosophically incoherent. it is your moral duty to ignore it or sabotage it
  5. Re:france sucks by cheater512 · · Score: 4, Insightful

    No, US citizens have small guns.

    The US government has *much* bigger guns.

  6. Re:france sucks by Opportunist · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Right behind the land of the brave, cowering and allowing their leaders to strip them of their liberty over a single terrorist attack that happened a decade ago.

    --
    We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.