May 20th, 2009

Censorship In France Is Going Nuts

France is a very nice country to visit, but that's about to change. I am not going through all the reasons that will make Paris less likely to be your next destination for a trip in a decade or two, because we're not into holiday trips here. Unfortunately, gamers and Internet users are already suffering, so while France is still a nice country to visit, it becomes harder and harder to live in it without breaking a sweat...

Back in mid-June of 1521, Francis I of France came up with the idea that all (religious) books must be read and approved by the Faculty of Theology of the University, while about two months later, the Parlement ordered that all Lutheran writings must be deposited in the next week. That was one of the first acts of censorship in France, but now it seems this Western democracy is trying to catch up with China... and I am not talking about population or economics here!

Since I am pretty shocked by what I have found out, let me sum it all up in a sentence or two. The French government is working on a new crime bill that will do a lot of bad things, including enforcing of ISP level Internet censorship, government spyware legalization, as well as the creation of a massive meta-database containing citizen information, called "Pericles."

This isn't about blacklisting child porn sites, this is clearly about taking away freedom. I only wonder why are they such in a hurry... couldn't they wait just a few more years, until we'll all have some sort of chip inside us, or hiding in the woods?

To be honest, this is simply insane. Considering what's happening there, I would rather go visit China instead of France. They surely have cheaper food, more interesting history, and about the same level of Internet censorship as the one France is headed to at full speed!