The French government on Tuesday called for a law requiring Internet service providers to give all the traffic on their networks equal priority, saying existing rules were insufficient for protecting free speech online and ensuring fair competition among Web publishers.The proposal would mark a big shift in French policy and a break with existing European Union practice on the thorny issue of so-called net neutrality. And though almost certain to meet resistance from some Internet service providers, it could fuel calls for similar rules throughout the 27-country European Union.
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/03/13/technology/france-proposes-new-rules-for-internet-equal-access.htmlAlso see:France could join the small club of countries that require net neutrality
The French government has put forward a new plan that could enshrine net neutrality in national law. If it passes, France would become the third country in Europe (after the Netherlands and Slovenia joined the club this year — Norway, too, has a similar, but, voluntary system), to enact such a policy and the fourth in the world, after Chile.On Tuesday, France’s Minister of the Digital Economy, Fleur Pellerin, formally accepted the 67-page report published earlier in the month by the National Digital Council, a government advisory body known by its French acronym, CNN.
http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2013/03/france-could-become-worlds-third-net-neutrality-nation/
France Proposes New Rules for Internet Equal Access
The French government on Tuesday called for a law requiring Internet service providers to give all the traffic on their networks equal priority, saying existing rules were insufficient for protecting free speech online and ensuring fair competition among Web publishers.