The procedure governing the blocking of hate mirror sites discussed in the French National Assembly
On Thursday, January 21, 2021, the chapter relating to cyber-hate in Bill No. 3649 Confirming Respect for the Principles of the Republic[1] (hereinafter “the Bill”)” was examined by the Special Commission in charge of examining the Bill Confirming Respect for the Principles of the Republic (hereinafter “the Commission”), in particular the possibility of obtaining the blocking of hate mirror sites.
Article 19 of the Bill provides for the possibility of requesting the blocking of hate mirror sites.
The Commission has adopted two amendments that clarify the procedure for blocking hate mirror sites:
- At the request of the main Internet[2] service providers (hereinafter “ISPs”), the Commission adopted a first amendment that deletes the new Article 6-3 of the Law for Confidence in the Digital Economy (hereinafter “LCEN”), which provided that any party to legal proceedings could request the blocking of a a publicly available electronic communication service containing the hate content of a service covered by another legal decision.
According to this amendment, only an authorized authority, such as the administrative authority, possibly seized by any interested person, may be in charge of identifying and/or legally qualifying illegal content and mirror sites, and transmitting them to technical intermediaries for action on their part.
- At the request of the deputy Laetitia Avia, the Commission adopted a second amendment which provides that the administrative authority can ask both ISPs and hosting[3] providers to prevent access to content identical or equivalent to content deemed illegal by an enforceable court decision.
In any case, UGGC and its team, expert in site blocking procedures is at your disposal for any questions you may have on this subject.
By the IP/IT team of UGGC Law Firm
Source: National Assembly
[1] See: https://www.assemblee-nationale.fr/15/textes/3649.asp#D_Article_19
[2] This is an amendment carried by the French Telecommunications Federation.
[3] Article 6 I 2 of the law for confidence in the digital economy