Tech & Biz

Top French Court Declares Internet Access 'Basic Human Right'

by Edmund Jenks | June 12, 2009 at 06:35 am

218 views | 42 Recommendations | 4 comments

Living here in the United States, where the internet got its start as a way for academicians to connect, share ideas, and theories, we have always felt speech ... even type written speech ... should be free.

In France, however, politicians see the internet as another moving object to tie down, control, and gain tax revenues from. The courts in France have a different view of this world than French President Sarkozy.

Let freedom ring!

The Constitutional Council declared access to the internet to be a basic human right, directly opposing the key points of Mr Sarkozy's law, passed in April, which created the first internet police agency in the democratic world.

The strongly-worded decision means that Mr Sarkozy's scheme has backfired and inadvertently boosted those who defend the free-for-all culture of the web.

Mr Sarkozy and Christine Albanel, his Culture Minister, forced the law through parliament despite misgivings from many of the President's centre-right MPs. It was rejected in its first passage through Parliament.

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Jordan Yerman

at 07:05 on June 12th, 2009

It's an interesting end-run around a piece of copyright-enforcement legislation that would have had a draconian effect of Internet usage, with little oversight or recourse for those accused of infringing.

Jarrett Martineau

at 10:18 on June 12th, 2009

Thanks for this. See NowPublic's additional coverage of this story:

Internet Access "Basic Human Right": French Court Foils Sarkozy

Roy C

at 11:47 on June 12th, 2009

Basic human need should have been the response for today's world.

The Libs under FDR began this confusion of "rights" and "needs". We need fresh water and clean air, but we have no "right" to them, other than our "right" to fight to obtain them. Whereas our basic human rights are inborn, the result of our being infused with them by a Higher Power, as it were, out of which our human identity is created.

The activist judges can use the idea of needs as rights to seize control of great sectors of our nation to command reforms which, while well-intended in themselves, use illegitimate means that undercut the processes of democracy and our democratic republic and the rule of law.

This abuse is Machiavellian ends justifiy means by ignoring all aspects of the outcome.