A new French Law threatens citizens’ freedom of expression on the net. People intending to publish or post on the Net from within France may soon have to give their name and address to their provider first.



We thought the UK was alone in advancing Draconian legislation of the kind that will effectively kill ecommerce and scare our populace off using the net to communicate in a meaningful fashion rather than simply consuming the latest Stateside produce. We were, perhaps unsuprisingly, wrong. France’s revision of its 1986 ‘Liberty of

Communication’ bill, due to be voted on on  June 28th, will demand that French citizens give up their right to anonymity on the net before posting. This law project defines the rights and duties of audiovisual communications companies, and includes an internet chapter which has been proposed without public debate. This frames citizens’ freedom of expression on the internet, with an obligation to identify themselves before posting or publishing any information. Each citizen wanting to publish or to post in a mailing-list,  a discussion forum or newsgroup may soon have to publish his name and address on his homepage, or give it to his provider, beforehand.French human rights groups are up in arms about the bill, arguing that such a law, which prima facie appears to be attempting to regulate public expression itself, should be debated publically before being passed. The ‘Vos Papiers!’ campaign asks that every one of us who is concerned about the bill show support by joining their appeal. Warning: you may have a few problems if you didn’t get your French ‘O’ level… Vos Papiers! www.lantre.org/vospapiers