No country in the world is trying to regulate the Internet as vigourously as France. Even the censorship system in China (Great Wall) is starting to look pale in comparison to France’s efforts to apply state interventionism to the world wide web.
It was Sarkozy’s Government that first introduced innovative and harsch sanctions for internet piracy in Europe (Hadopi Law), by proposing to cut off the internet access of illegal file- sharers for more than an year. Now it is considering to tax the global online advertising industry, aiming directly at its flagship company- Google.
According to the report of the Zelnik commission, the digital revolution is to blame for the miserable situation of the content producers in the country. Online advertising giants like Google, MSNand Yahoo on the other side earn significant revenues, while managing digital content and using it as a plattform for advertising purposes. This imbalance is to be tackled by the new levy, that will charge global advertising companies on the basis of the number of “french clicks” they have attracted.Thus, the rule would apply even if the operator has its offices outside France, as long as the Internet users who click on ad banners or sponsored links are located in the country.
The government is expecting up to €50m. per year, which would then directly benefit the national audiovisual, music and journalistic industry and in particular their successful adaptation to the revolutionised market for digital content.
For further Information: Liberation.fr
