lambda 2.09 - French Telco Act Censored?

[jt@freenix.fr (Jerome Thorel)]

netizen's --> Lambda Bulletin 2.09 <-- contents
-->> www.freenix.fr/netizen

+ Censoring Censorship Attempts
French Telco Act's Internet control sections may be unconstitutional.
+ Encryption : The OECD fails to act on key-escrow policy


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CENSORING CENSORSHIP ATTEMPTS -- A LA FRANCAISE

The French Telco Act, which was voted by the Parliament on June 7, may
follow the same path than the US Communications Decency Act. A group of
Socialists Senators has sent a request to examine eventual
unconstitutionality of the law.

The new Act, due to meet new criteria for telecoms competition in France,
has also taken some steps to create an administrative control of speech and
services via online services and the Internet. The new council, le Conseil
Sup�rieur de la T�l�matique, "could block the free communication of
thoughts and opinions, and may eventually establish a principle of
preliminary declaration" for online speech, reads the document given to the
Conseil Constitutionnel, the supreme watchdog of the French 1958
Constitution (and the principles of the 1789 Declaration des Droits de
l'Homme et du Citoyen).

Indeed, the law may breach article 34 of the Constitution which says that
the Parliament alone could indict rules concerning "the basic garanties
given to citizens for the exercice of their civil liberties". But the newly
created CST may appreciate if a Web site or a newgroup could be illicite
according to the French Penal Code. This "appreciation" is not sufficiently
well defined in the Telco Act, constitutionnal jurists said.

Article 66 of the Constitution also states that the appreciation of the
Penal Code should be the role of the penal judiciary (le Juge Penal), but
shouldn't depend on any administrative body or any administrative judge
(Juge Administratif).

But other voices said that the existing Conseil Sup�rieur de l'Audiovisuel
(which regulates broadcasting content) is based on the same principles.
Then, the Conseil Constitutionnel will have to make a difference between a
TV program and a Usenet feed. That's what the Philadelphia Court acted when
they censored the CDA.

Final decision awaited in Paris before the end of July (July 26th in theory).


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OECD FAILS TO ACT ON KEY-ESCROW ENCRYPTION; THE US ACCUSED OF "POLICY
LAUNDERING"

The Paris-based OECD, the 24-members club of industrialised nations, has
failed to take a step towards international recongnition of key-escrow
encryption. The meeting of June 26-28 in Paris, scheduled to take a firm
decision about the possibility of law enforcement agencies to read
electronic mail of private individuals and corporations, didn't succeed to
act on a compromise. The OECD's general secretary has no special power to
draw regulations and must find a common policy on the matter.

Sources said the OECD has been set apart between "the key escrow group" --
mainly USA, France and Britain -- and the "laxist" group -- mainly Japan
and Europe's Scandinavian countries like Sweden, Denmark and Finland
(Germany was still uncertain).

A press release of the OECD says that no final decisions were made. There
will be no other comment of the case. "The OECD experts grappled with
achieving a balance between respect of national sovereignty and developing
an international approach.  This dialogue will be continued at a third
meeting of the group, scheduled to take place on 26-27 September, in Paris.



An OECD spokeswoman said the organisation asked independant experts from
the Electronic Privacy Information Center (Washington, DC) to participate
in preliminary meetings. The EPIC prefers not to make any comment until the
next meeting in September.

Sources said the US were willing to "use" the OECD as a "policy laundering"
machine : to pressure the organisation in order to have the key escrow
policy approved by the 24 countries. US intelligence officials would have
been using it as a political weapon at home, where Congress,
public-interests groups and industry pressure groups are on the verge to
act against any key-escrow policy.

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**LAMBDA SPECIALS -- WEB ONLY!!! - see www.freenix.fr/netizen**

Forget the Internet. Here are some subversive archives. Unfortunatly,
mainly in French.

-->> Coca-Cola's weird business strategy during WW2. (You won't heard this
story during 1996 Olympics). Based on a book published in 1993, "For God,
Country and Coca-Cola, by Mark Pendergrast (Scribner's Sons Publishing, New
York). From the Berlin Olympics to 1945, Coca-Cola builded a strong
presence in Germany while sitting besides GI's in the Us War effort.
Check interesting pictures taken from the book:
>> www.freenix.fr/netizen/special/coca-colabo.html
-->> Special Psychedelics
French stories about the renewal of medical psychedelic research. And a
letter from Tim Leary, psyche pope of the 60's, published in English.
>> www.freenix.fr/netizen/special/tl-letter.html

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Jerome Thorel =-= Journaliste/Free-lance Reporter =-= Paris, France
   =+= the lambda bulletin --> http://www.freenix.fr/netizen =+=