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| France Proposes New Rules for Internet Equal Access | France Proposes New Rules for Internet Equal Access |
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| SERRAVAL, France — The French government on Tuesday called for a law requiring Internet service providers to give all the traffic on their networks equal priority, saying existing rules were insufficient for protecting free speech online and ensuring fair competition among Web publishers. | |
| The proposal would mark a big shift in French policy and a break with existing European Union practice on the thorny issue of so-called net neutrality. And though almost certain to meet resistance from some Internet service providers, it could fuel calls for similar rules throughout the 27-country European Union. | The proposal would mark a big shift in French policy and a break with existing European Union practice on the thorny issue of so-called net neutrality. And though almost certain to meet resistance from some Internet service providers, it could fuel calls for similar rules throughout the 27-country European Union. |
| The issue came to a head in France in January, when one service provider, Free, temporarily blocked users from seeing advertising sold by Google until the government ordered Free to restore access. | The issue came to a head in France in January, when one service provider, Free, temporarily blocked users from seeing advertising sold by Google until the government ordered Free to restore access. |
| The proposal, by a French government advisory panel and endorsed by the minister overseeing digital commerce, pits companies that build and operate telecommunications systems against Internet players that rely on the networks to deliver their content to consumers. The French proposal would still need to be drafted as legislation and taken up by Parliament. | The proposal, by a French government advisory panel and endorsed by the minister overseeing digital commerce, pits companies that build and operate telecommunications systems against Internet players that rely on the networks to deliver their content to consumers. The French proposal would still need to be drafted as legislation and taken up by Parliament. |
| “I do think that what happens in France could be a test case for what happens on these tensions globally,” said Matthew Howett, an analyst at Ovum, a telecommunications consulting firm in London. “There are a lot of countries waiting for someone else to move.” | “I do think that what happens in France could be a test case for what happens on these tensions globally,” said Matthew Howett, an analyst at Ovum, a telecommunications consulting firm in London. “There are a lot of countries waiting for someone else to move.” |
| In the United States, the Federal Communications Commission has sought to impose net neutrality regulations without legislation, but the initiative has gotten bogged down by legal challenges and other hurdles. | In the United States, the Federal Communications Commission has sought to impose net neutrality regulations without legislation, but the initiative has gotten bogged down by legal challenges and other hurdles. |
| Google and Free, France’s second-largest Internet access provider, declined to comment on the proposal Tuesday. | Google and Free, France’s second-largest Internet access provider, declined to comment on the proposal Tuesday. |
| Thierry Dieu, a spokesman for the European Telecommunications Network Operators Association, a lobbying group in Brussels, declined to comment directly on the French proposal, but he said the group’s members favored a “harmonized” approach across the European Union, rather than country-by-country legislation. | Thierry Dieu, a spokesman for the European Telecommunications Network Operators Association, a lobbying group in Brussels, declined to comment directly on the French proposal, but he said the group’s members favored a “harmonized” approach across the European Union, rather than country-by-country legislation. |
| “For the single telecommunications market in the E.U. and the certainty of business, this is very important,” he said. | “For the single telecommunications market in the E.U. and the certainty of business, this is very important,” he said. |
| Even some free-speech advocates questioned whether the rules proposed by the advisory panel were at odds with other moves by the government of the French president, François Hollande, to limit hate speech on Twitter and other social networks. | Even some free-speech advocates questioned whether the rules proposed by the advisory panel were at odds with other moves by the government of the French president, François Hollande, to limit hate speech on Twitter and other social networks. |
| Until now, the European Union and national administrations in many of the member countries have said that no new regulations were necessary to ensure that Internet traffic — whether simple e-mail messages or bandwidth-hungry video files — was treated equitably by network operators. Telecommunications providers have generally been permitted to determine which files or traffic get priority during periods of peak network demand, which they say is essential, given ever-increasing traffic. | Until now, the European Union and national administrations in many of the member countries have said that no new regulations were necessary to ensure that Internet traffic — whether simple e-mail messages or bandwidth-hungry video files — was treated equitably by network operators. Telecommunications providers have generally been permitted to determine which files or traffic get priority during periods of peak network demand, which they say is essential, given ever-increasing traffic. |
| E.U. regulators in Brussels have said the high level of competition among Internet service providers was sufficient to prevent the kinds of abuses feared by advocates of net neutrality rules. According to the Brussels view, if a telecommunications company were to cut off access to a certain Web site for political or business reasons, users could simply move to a rival service. | E.U. regulators in Brussels have said the high level of competition among Internet service providers was sufficient to prevent the kinds of abuses feared by advocates of net neutrality rules. According to the Brussels view, if a telecommunications company were to cut off access to a certain Web site for political or business reasons, users could simply move to a rival service. |
| The French showdown in January between Free and Google involved a dispute over the carriage of YouTube, Google’s video-sharing service. Free complained that YouTube hogs vast amounts of bandwidth, forcing the networking company to make big investments in infrastructure without generating any additional financial benefit from YouTube’s advertising revenue. | The French showdown in January between Free and Google involved a dispute over the carriage of YouTube, Google’s video-sharing service. Free complained that YouTube hogs vast amounts of bandwidth, forcing the networking company to make big investments in infrastructure without generating any additional financial benefit from YouTube’s advertising revenue. |
| At the time, Fleur Pellerin, the French minister overseeing the digital economy, ordered Free to restore the Google advertisements. But she said the issue of net neutrality needed further study. On Tuesday, at a Paris news conference, she threw her weight behind the newly released proposal from the Conseil National du Numérique, or national digital council, which recommended legislation to enshrine net neutrality as a “fundamental principle” of French law. | At the time, Fleur Pellerin, the French minister overseeing the digital economy, ordered Free to restore the Google advertisements. But she said the issue of net neutrality needed further study. On Tuesday, at a Paris news conference, she threw her weight behind the newly released proposal from the Conseil National du Numérique, or national digital council, which recommended legislation to enshrine net neutrality as a “fundamental principle” of French law. |
| “At this moment,” Ms. Pellerin said, “neutrality has not been defined from a legal point view.” | “At this moment,” Ms. Pellerin said, “neutrality has not been defined from a legal point view.” |
| The digital council, composed of experts from the private and public sectors, recommended that exceptions to net neutrality should be possible only with the approval of a judge. | The digital council, composed of experts from the private and public sectors, recommended that exceptions to net neutrality should be possible only with the approval of a judge. |
| “Freedom of expression is insufficiently protected under French law, amid the development of techniques like filtering, blocking, censorship and slowdowns,” the council said. | “Freedom of expression is insufficiently protected under French law, amid the development of techniques like filtering, blocking, censorship and slowdowns,” the council said. |
| While free-speech groups have been campaigning for net neutrality regulations, the council’s proposal drew a lukewarm response from some of them. One reason was a recommendation that the regulations should be extended beyond Internet service providers and should apply also to “communications services.” | While free-speech groups have been campaigning for net neutrality regulations, the council’s proposal drew a lukewarm response from some of them. One reason was a recommendation that the regulations should be extended beyond Internet service providers and should apply also to “communications services.” |
| The council cited search engines and social networks as examples, without naming any, saying the dominant positions that some of these companies wield could create the scope for abusing their power. | The council cited search engines and social networks as examples, without naming any, saying the dominant positions that some of these companies wield could create the scope for abusing their power. |
| “Today, the Internet is no longer just a physical network but also, and above all, a collection of services,” the council said. “It is pointless to impose net neutrality upstream if the rules are not changed downstream.” | “Today, the Internet is no longer just a physical network but also, and above all, a collection of services,” the council said. “It is pointless to impose net neutrality upstream if the rules are not changed downstream.” |
| That aspect of the report pleased some telecommunications providers, despite their general resistance to net neutrality regulations. | That aspect of the report pleased some telecommunications providers, despite their general resistance to net neutrality regulations. |
| “We agree with the broad approach in the report of targeting not just operators but also service providers,” France Télécom, the country’s biggest telecommunications company, said Tuesday. | “We agree with the broad approach in the report of targeting not just operators but also service providers,” France Télécom, the country’s biggest telecommunications company, said Tuesday. |
| Ms. Pellerin described neutrality as a two-sided question, requiring legislation that addressed not just freedom of expression but also “the economic balance between the major players.” | Ms. Pellerin described neutrality as a two-sided question, requiring legislation that addressed not just freedom of expression but also “the economic balance between the major players.” |
| “Our goal is to support the vision of an Internet that is free, open, respectful of rights and that is a driver of innovation,” Ms. Pellerin said. | “Our goal is to support the vision of an Internet that is free, open, respectful of rights and that is a driver of innovation,” Ms. Pellerin said. |
| The proposal comes as the Hollande government has been discussing new curbs on other digital policy fronts. There has been talk, for example, of measures to restrict hate speech on social networks like Twitter, following a spate of anti-Semitic and racist postings on the microblogging site. How such a measure could be reconciled with legislation guaranteeing “neutrality” on social networks left some analysts scratching their heads. | The proposal comes as the Hollande government has been discussing new curbs on other digital policy fronts. There has been talk, for example, of measures to restrict hate speech on social networks like Twitter, following a spate of anti-Semitic and racist postings on the microblogging site. How such a measure could be reconciled with legislation guaranteeing “neutrality” on social networks left some analysts scratching their heads. |
| “It would be hypocritical to enlarge the exceptions to free speech at the same time as legislating for network neutrality in the name of free speech,” said Jérémie Zimmermann, a spokesman for La Quadrature du Net, a group that opposes any type of restrictions on information on the Internet. | “It would be hypocritical to enlarge the exceptions to free speech at the same time as legislating for network neutrality in the name of free speech,” said Jérémie Zimmermann, a spokesman for La Quadrature du Net, a group that opposes any type of restrictions on information on the Internet. |
| France would not be the first European country to legislate on net neutrality issues. The Netherlands two years ago adopted a law banning mobile phone operators from blocking access to Internet communications services like Skype, which undercut network operators’ call charges. But the Dutch measure is more limited in scope than the proposal outlined by the French digital council. | France would not be the first European country to legislate on net neutrality issues. The Netherlands two years ago adopted a law banning mobile phone operators from blocking access to Internet communications services like Skype, which undercut network operators’ call charges. But the Dutch measure is more limited in scope than the proposal outlined by the French digital council. |
| Ms. Pellerin acknowledged that any new French law would be of limited efficacy if not matched by other countries, given the border-hopping nature of the Internet. | Ms. Pellerin acknowledged that any new French law would be of limited efficacy if not matched by other countries, given the border-hopping nature of the Internet. |
| “We’re dealing with transnational actors, and the definition of a principle that is not recognized outside of France would be complicated to implement,” she said. France will press the issue with other European countries, she said, with an eye to establishing “common definitions and principles” across the European Union. | “We’re dealing with transnational actors, and the definition of a principle that is not recognized outside of France would be complicated to implement,” she said. France will press the issue with other European countries, she said, with an eye to establishing “common definitions and principles” across the European Union. |
| While the European Commission has conducted a series of reviews of its network access rules, it has so far stopped short of proposing net neutrality legislation. Linda Cain, a spokeswoman for Neelie Kroes, the European commissioner for information policy, said Brussels expected to publish new recommendations on telecommunications traffic management and related issues later this year. | While the European Commission has conducted a series of reviews of its network access rules, it has so far stopped short of proposing net neutrality legislation. Linda Cain, a spokeswoman for Neelie Kroes, the European commissioner for information policy, said Brussels expected to publish new recommendations on telecommunications traffic management and related issues later this year. |
| Nicola Clark reported from Paris. | Nicola Clark reported from Paris. |
This article has been revised to reflect the following correction: | This article has been revised to reflect the following correction: |
| Correction: March 13, 2013 | Correction: March 13, 2013 |
An | Because of an editing error, an earlier version of this article rendered incorrectly part of the name of the French agency overseeing the digital economy. It is the Conseil National du Numérique, not the Conseil Nationale du Numérique. |