Paris, April 12th, 2011 – The trans-partisan parliamentary mission led by Laure de la Raudière and Corinne Erhel just released its report on Net neutrality . This encouraging report calls for preserving the Internet’s universality and protecting end-users’ fundamental freedoms, and should be considered a template for other European public authorities. That said, while this document offers an important reflection on the evolution of our legal framework to protect fundamental rights and foster the digital economy, it must be followed by actions. La Quadrature du Net publishes an unofficial translation of the report’s introduction.



This report on Net Neutrality, commissioned by the French Parliament’s Economic Affairs Committee, was presented yesterday by Laure de La Raudière and Corinne Erhel.

The report puts forward sensible proposals and principles and is an important step towards the legal protection of Net neutrality, a core concept of the Internet. While Internet access providers claim that neutrality violations (and thus violations of free competition and end-users’ freedoms) are justified by their network investments costs, the report wisely chooses to separate these two issues. The mission also timely questions the legitimacy of blocking and filtering measures (which amount to Internet censorship, such as that established by the French LOPPSI and ARJEL laws). According to the report, blocking measures deserve further questioning “despite their apparent legitimacy, due to their inefficiency and the adverse effects they may lead to” .

This document must serve as a template for the European Commission, which will soon deliver a report on Net neutrality. It could also help EU Member States in their transposition of the “Telecoms Package”. The latter needs to be complemented in order to effectively protect freedom of information and communication on the Internet.

“We are thankful for the excellent work of Laure de Raudière and Corinne Erhel’s trans-partisan mission. The report reveals a deep understanding of the technical, social, economic and political realities of the Internet, and of the huge importance of preserving its universality. The rapporteurs stress the importance of protecting Net neutrality, which is the guarantee of online freedom, refusing to sacrifice it in the name of telecoms operators’ economic interest”, says Jérémie Zimmerman, co-founder and spokesperson of the citizen advocacy group La Quadrature du Net.

“While the mission’s report seems to establish a counterpoint to Nicolas Sarkozy’s repressive Internet-related politics, it must now be followed by actions. The MPs emphasize how Net neutrality makes society more democratic and our economy more open, but these conclusions must now be put into action quickly, beyond mere electoralist politics.” concludes Zimmermann.



Unofficial translation of the report’s introduction