French ISPs Agree To Censor The Web
from the moving-in-a-bad-direction dept
Well here's a news story that actually combines two separate recent stories here. France, who we've just talked about for its repeated mistake in blaming platforms for the actions of their users, has followed down the same path that New York state just trekked concerning misguided concepts on how to stop objectionable content online. That is, France is now requiring ISPs to block a list of sites that it determines as objectionable. Apparently the list will be based on sites flagged by web users. Again, this is targeting the wrong thing and won't do much to actually stop the dissemination of the content. If the content itself is illegal, go after those responsible. Simply blocking it opens up all kinds of censorship questions, and opens the door to that slippery slope of what's considered "objectionable." With no real way to make sure that the content is actually objectionable, it's easy to see this system being abused in an attempt to silence people or viewpoints.
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Filed Under: censorship, france, isp blocks, objectionable content
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Re:
I don't think ANYONE can unwittingly stumble across child porn.
I am concerned about how many controversial yet perfectly legitimate sites might end up flagged by prude puritans...
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Re: Legitimate Sites
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Really?
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The French?
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Re: The French?
Our gouvernement is keeping things out of our sight.
We have to stand up and fight......Before it is too late
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here's one for their list
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Re: here's one for their list
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Typical French
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proxys?
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Re: proxys?
(But presumeably that proxy server would need to be outside the country)
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Re: Re: proxys?
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nuke france
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Takedown request
Please remove google.fr since they are hosting objectionable materials.
Merci,
yahoo.fr
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Objectionable? In France?
JT
www.FireMe.to/udi
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Re: Objectionable? In France?
Not any more. A new law forbidding smoking in restaurants is in application since the beginning of the year.
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granted the premise...
If you accept that the state has any legitimacy or authority to rule in one aspect of individuals' lives, making the argument that it should stop short of dictating in THIS aspect seems arbitrary.
The French are obsessed with government. The "this goes too far!" arguments don't seem right to me. They just sound like "I want the government to do everything I do like, but nothing that I don't like."
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But of course!
Say, where can I get the list of whats being blocked? :)
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Maybe the French like a bland internet
It's just a matter of time before all the "critic" sites get taken down because too many users "flagged" them. I can see groups like Scientology telling their followers to flag all the anti-Scientology sites. And guess what? The sites come down in France.
There may be laws against government censorship, but when you're dealing with organizations and ISP's, then the government's "right to free speech" no longer applies.
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