France’s internet bill, announced nearly three years ago and now named officially ‘the law for a digital republic’, will be put online on 21 September, inviting comments from the public, reports Les Echos. Any proposal will be considered if it obtains a certain number of ‘likes’ on Facebook, with digital secretary Axelle Lemaire to reply to the most popular requests.
Central to the bill is the principle of net neutrality and non-discriminatory access to content and transparency. Certain measures found in earlier drafts have been removed, for example the concept of platform loyalty. The government once considered writing into law new competition-related obligations for internet giants, but it was advised against it in Brussels. Other measures that disappeared covered online games and the evolution of the role of hosting service providers.
The bill has three parts, around the themes of ‘liberty’, ‘equality’ and ‘fraternity’. The first section will set a global framework for France’s open data policy. All public data will be by default open and free, and the law will cover the notion of ‘general interest data’. A new government office will be created to create value in public data such train schedules and offer new services.
The second section covers internet user rights, affirming that users’ data must be freely available to them. It will write into law the right to be forgotten for all minors, which allows them to request for pictures or other material to be taken down, rather than having to give a justification, as is currently the case. The law will also detail the conditions for a so-called ‘digital death’ to allow people to write a will for their digital presence after death.
The third section refers to digital inclusion. It sets a right to a minimum threshold of internet connectivity, with services such as consulting job offers, citzens rights and more available to all. The bill also contains obligations for accessibility, with a digital agency to be created for this purpose. A new structure will centralise all digital developments across the country and a platform for local internet training initiatives will be launched. The bill is due for its first reading in parliament in early 2016.
