Legal and Regulatory Frameworks
The French media are regulated under the supervision of the Conseil Supe ´rieur de
l’Audiovisuel (CSA, Higher Audiovisual Council). This independent administrative authority guarantees freedom of communication and checks whether television programs
comply with French laws. Special attention is paid to the protection of young audiences, and equal air time is allocated to political candidates during election periods. 22 In
response to market pressures on media pluralism, the government established La Direction du De ´veloppement des Me ´dias (DDM, Department of Media Development) to encourage plurality of the press and to prevent excessive concentrations of ownership. 23
Illegal content and activity on the Internet are mainly regulated by the LCEN 2004–
575 of June 21, 2004, which supersedes European Directive 2000/31/CE. 24 Article 2 of
the LCEN relieves ISPs of civil and criminal responsibility if they had ‘‘no knowledge
of illegal activity or material’’ or if they ‘‘acted promptly to remove or block access to
it as soon as they discovered it.’’ 25 Providers are also exempt from civil responsibility
if they ‘‘have no knowledge of how the illegal activity or material arose.’’ However,
once a judicial order has been issued and proper notice given to the hosting Web site,
the site is liable for any further reposting of the illegal material. Moreover, a Web site
can be held liable for redirecting Internet users to another Web site containing unlawful information. 26 This decision has recently been subject to controversy in France—
discussions mainly focus on the definition of ‘‘illegal activity or material’’ and on the
need for a clear distinction between editing and hosting activities. 27
In 2000, a French judge ruled that U.S.-based Yahoo! Inc. had to prevent French
users from accessing Web sites auctioning racial hate memorabilia. Yahoo complied
by prohibiting users from accessing English-language Web sites selling Nazi memorabilia on its localized French site, yahoo.fr, but claimed that it was technically impossible to ban French users from accessing such content through its U.S. site. 28 In 2001, a
U.S. district court ruled that the First Amendment of the Constitution protects content
generated in the United States by American companies from being regulated by authorities in countries that have more restrictive laws on freedom of expression. 29
In 2008, France signed an agreement to block access to child pornography, as well as
Web sites promoting racial violence or terrorism. 30
Surveillance
Although the French Constitution does not expressly include the right to privacy, the
French Constitutional Council held in 1995, 31 and confirmed in 1999, 32 that the right
to privacy is recognized as a constitutional right implicitly included in Article 2 of the
1789 Declaration. 33 The civil and penal codes expressly recognize the tort of privacy
and a penal protection of the right to privacy, respectively. 34 The 1978 Data Protection
300
France
The French media are regulated under the supervision of the Conseil Supe ´rieur de
l’Audiovisuel (CSA, Higher Audiovisual Council). This independent administrative authority guarantees freedom of communication and checks whether television programs
comply with French laws. Special attention is paid to the protection of young audiences, and equal air time is allocated to political candidates during election periods. 22 In
response to market pressures on media pluralism, the government established La Direction du De ´veloppement des Me ´dias (DDM, Department of Media Development) to encourage plurality of the press and to prevent excessive concentrations of ownership. 23
Illegal content and activity on the Internet are mainly regulated by the LCEN 2004–
575 of June 21, 2004, which supersedes European Directive 2000/31/CE. 24 Article 2 of
the LCEN relieves ISPs of civil and criminal responsibility if they had ‘‘no knowledge
of illegal activity or material’’ or if they ‘‘acted promptly to remove or block access to
it as soon as they discovered it.’’ 25 Providers are also exempt from civil responsibility
if they ‘‘have no knowledge of how the illegal activity or material arose.’’ However,
once a judicial order has been issued and proper notice given to the hosting Web site,
the site is liable for any further reposting of the illegal material. Moreover, a Web site
can be held liable for redirecting Internet users to another Web site containing unlawful information. 26 This decision has recently been subject to controversy in France—
discussions mainly focus on the definition of ‘‘illegal activity or material’’ and on the
need for a clear distinction between editing and hosting activities. 27
In 2000, a French judge ruled that U.S.-based Yahoo! Inc. had to prevent French
users from accessing Web sites auctioning racial hate memorabilia. Yahoo complied
by prohibiting users from accessing English-language Web sites selling Nazi memorabilia on its localized French site, yahoo.fr, but claimed that it was technically impossible to ban French users from accessing such content through its U.S. site. 28 In 2001, a
U.S. district court ruled that the First Amendment of the Constitution protects content
generated in the United States by American companies from being regulated by authorities in countries that have more restrictive laws on freedom of expression. 29
In 2008, France signed an agreement to block access to child pornography, as well as
Web sites promoting racial violence or terrorism. 30
Surveillance
Although the French Constitution does not expressly include the right to privacy, the
French Constitutional Council held in 1995, 31 and confirmed in 1999, 32 that the right
to privacy is recognized as a constitutional right implicitly included in Article 2 of the
1789 Declaration. 33 The civil and penal codes expressly recognize the tort of privacy
and a penal protection of the right to privacy, respectively. 34 The 1978 Data Protection
300
France