(RSF/IFEX) – In an 8 October 2001 letter to Jean-Michel Hubert, president of the Telecommunications Regulation Authority (Autorité de régulation des télécommunications, ART), Michel Gentot, president of the National Commission on Computer Science and Liberties (Commission nationale de l’informatique et des libertés, CNIL), Alain Bacquet, president of the National Human Rights Consultative Commission (Commission nationale […]
(RSF/IFEX) – In an 8 October 2001 letter to Jean-Michel Hubert, president of the Telecommunications Regulation Authority (Autorité de régulation des télécommunications, ART), Michel Gentot, president of the National Commission on Computer Science and Liberties (Commission nationale de l’informatique et des libertés, CNIL), Alain Bacquet, president of the National Human Rights Consultative Commission (Commission nationale consultative des droits de l’homme, CNCDH), and Dominique Baudis, president of the Audio-visual High Council (Conseil supérieur de l’audiovisuel, CSA), RSF asked the four “independent administrative authorities,” who are concerned with information society trends and issues, to actively participate in the process of drawing up the new anti-terrorist legislation announced by Prime Minister Lionel Jospin.
“We fear that, under the pretext of the urgency of the situation and the tracking of terrorist networks, the government is preparing to adopt, without debate or dialogue, measures which will have serious implications for liberties,” stated RSF Secretary-General Robert Ménard. “We ask that, in spite of the current context, you fully exercise your role as guarantors of individual liberties, and demand a thorough examination of the legislative measures that have been announced concerning Internet controls, encryption and the retention of data,” added Ménard.
According to information collected by RSF, measures which were already included in the Information Society Bill (projet de loi sur la société de l’information, LSI) will reportedly be added to the “Daily Security Bill” (projet de “loi sur la sécurité quotidienne”). Examined at the beginning of the summer by the National Assembly, and currently being reviewed in the Senate, this text will therefore be amended to include the anti-terrorist measures presented by the prime minister on 3 October in his general policy speech to the Assembly. These measures may also be included in a distinct “post 11 September” bill, but will in any event be adopted “in a form responding to the immediate urgency,” according to Jospin’s remarks.
Measures included in the LSI Bill with respect to encryption and the retention of data will thus likely be adopted more rapidly. The measures aimed at regulating the use of encryption technologies limit Internet users’ ability to send their messages securely on the network. Despite the many promises to “completely liberalise” encryption technologies, the ownership and use of appropriate software will continue to be limited by the regulations included in the LSI Bill (Articles 41, 42 and following). In the context of legal proceedings, the text calls for recourse to the defence services in order to break encryption keys. The measures that concern the retention of Internet users’ data, that is to say, the traces of the use of different public networks (mobile, land, etc.), are aimed at introducing the principle of “preventive retention” of data into French law. A decree is likely to determine what types of data are targeted by this measure, which is scheduled to be applied for a twelve-month period. In the context of the LSI, these measures would probably not have been adopted until spring 2002, after being reviewed by the CNIL.
The LSI was in fact expected to serve as a legal framework for all Internet-based activities in France. Potentially repressive measures included in the first draft of the bill, such as the criminal responsibility of Internet service providers, or the CSA’s control of Internet content, were dropped from the final version. However, the bill announced the creation of an Internet “co-regulatory” body, the “Forum of Internet Rights” (“Forum des droits de l’Internet”), which is to include private and public sector representatives, as well as regular Internet users. This new regulatory body’s rights are poorly defined. On 28 May, RSF, which campaigns for complete freedom regarding Internet controls and content, denounced the creation of such a surveillance body.
In early April, the government submitted a nearly final draft version of the bill to the ART, the CSA, the CNIL and the CNCDH. These institutions were expected to submit their comments on the bill prior to its presentation before the Council of Ministers and the vote in the National Assembly. The last minute inclusion of the LSI Bill’s most controversial measures in the legislative plan on fighting terrorism renders the four independent authorities’ exercise of their consultative role more difficult.
