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What is La Quadrature?La Quadrature du Net is an advocacy group that promotes the rights and freedoms of citizens on the Internet. More specifically, it advocates for the adaptation of French and European legislations to respect the founding principles of the Internet, most notably the free circulation of knowledge. As such, La Quadrature du Net engages in public-policy debates concerning, for instance, freedom of expression, copyright, regulation of telecommunications and online privacy. In addition to its advocacy work, the group also aims to foster a better understanding of legislative processes among citizens. Through specific and pertinent information and tools, La Quadrature du Net hopes to encourage citizens' participation in the public debate on rights and freedoms in the digital age.
Why this name "La Quadrature du net" ?We believe that the promoters of the projects we are opposing are trying to solve a problem similar to squaring the circle. They did not understand that we changed era, that some approaches are outdated, that we must collectively rethink our approach to the control of information. We believe that it is impossible to effectively control the flow of information in the digital age by the law and the technology without harming public freedoms, and damaging economic and social development. This is what we call squaring the net. We agree with the idea expressed by Jacques Attali related to the draft of the Olivennes law, when he presented the Committee's report about economic growth to the parliament: "we cannot develop economical growth by installing surveillance and tracing." For the record, according to the online encyclopedia Wikipedia, squaring the circle is a classic problem of mathematics appearing in geometry. It is one of three major problems of the ancient world, with the trisection of the angle and the duplication of the cube. In the oldest mathematical text found, Rhind papyrus (~ 1650 BC.), The scribe Queen Ahmose already proposed approximate solution of the problem. However, we had to wait until 1882 for the German mathematician Ferdinand von Lindemann to show the transcendence of π, proving the impossibility of solving the problem of squaring the circle: it is impossible to construct, using only a ruler and compass, a square whose surface is exactly equal to the surface of a disk. The question now is how many centuries it will be necessary for the law makers to return to reason? Are we in the field of law and ICT closer to BC -1650 or 1882?
PROPOSALS & ESSENTIAL READINGS
Essential readings La Quadrature du Net proposes to put in place the Creative contribution, that is to recognize a right to share digitally published works without aim of profit between individuals and to put in place a new flat-rate societal funding of creation of digital works and reward for their usage. This proposal is evolving as it is debated, criticized and further elaborated. Its latest embodiment is the "in the works" English book "Sharing and the Creative Economy" (see below).
Equally important are input given to the European and International institutions on the future of the copyright legal framework, directly or through our signature of the Public Domain Manifesto and the Charter for Creativity, Innovation and Access to Knowledge. Finally we have made proposals for putting in place independent observatories of Internet usage (proposal in French).
Net neutrality means that the Internet has no gatekeeper. It encompasses all the issues related to the circulation of information on the Internet, such as free speech, access to knowledge, copyright or innovation. Thanks to this principle, everyone retain the freedom to access and produce the information they want.
But this funding principle of the Internet is now under threat, as some telecom operators and content industries want to develop business-models based on the prioritization of certain information flows by taking control of the network. Also, governments threaten Net neutrality by seeking to implement filtering techniques in order to re-establish the kind of control they used to have on traditional and unidirectional media.
La Quadrature Answers the EU questionnaire on Net Neutrality
C'est ainsi qu'Internet contribue, notamment via le biais de nouveaux outils collaboratifs tels que les blogs ou wiki, à enrichir notre écosystème médiatique. La neutralité du Net fait également d'Internet un espace d'innovation « sans permis », dans lequel n'importe quelle petite entreprise peut librement distribuer de nouveaux services sur Internet, même lorsque ces derniers entrent en compétition avec des acteurs économiques établis. Or, aujourd'hui, de nombreux opérateurs de télécommunications souhaitent remettre en cause la neutralité du Net dans le but de développer des modèles économiques fondés sur une gestion discriminatoire du trafic Internet. Les fournisseurs de contenu et de services qui seraient en mesure de payer continueraient de bénéficier des pleines capacités du réseau, tandis que le reste d'Internet se verrait ralenti. De même, des gouvernements de par le monde cherchent à mettre en place des techniques de filtrage du réseau en vue de rétablir le contrôle dont ils jouissent sur les médias traditionnels. Aussi, pour que chacun préserve la liberté de s'exprimer, de communiquer et d'innover sur Internet, il est indispensable de protéger la neutralité du Net. We stand for a single internet where all of humanity has equal access to knowledge and ideas. And we recognize that the world’s information infrastructure will become what we and others make of it. Now, this challenge may be new, but our responsibility to help ensure the free exchange of ideas goes back to the birth of our republic. Hillary Clinton, U.S. Secretary of State - Remarks on Internet freedom, Jan 21st, 2010.
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