back to article French plod can BAN access to any website – NO court order needed

The French government wants to block terrorist and child porn websites so badly that it'll even pay for the privilege. A new implementation of last year’s Terrorism Act (effectively a new decree extending the scope of the existing law) will force internet service providers to block websites within 24 hours if ordered to do so …

  1. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    If a website is really so bad...

    ... whats the problem with getting a court order or whatever the French equivalent is?

    This is so open to abuse its not funny but I suppose it was an inevitable reaction to the charlie hebdo massacre.

    Anyway, don't most terrorists just post to twitter, facebok or youtube now? Is france going to ban them too?

    1. Oninoshiko
      Big Brother

      Re: If a website is really so bad...

      I wonder what the staff of Charlie Hebdo think about this.

      I would suspect not highly.

    2. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: If a website is really so bad...

      How will le plod ban access to web sites not hosted on French soil ? Scan all of cyberspace for pages displaying the banned IP addresses and threaten to close down their site owner's local French embassies? Send the paras ?

      My guess (unfounded perhaps) is that most big bad terr jihadi sites are not even hosted on Western domiciled servers, or perhaps won't be for very much longer. Sounds more like a technique for leaning on Facebook et al. so they start "policing" their content and drive some stuff off the mainstream.

      Since Facebook has now teamed up with Websense, they can comply with blacklisting requests pretty quickly (despite the freedom of expression, sovereignity and censorship issues it raises).

      It will be less easy for Gaston LeToile, petit web-operateur to comply. But offering free money usually works, especially in France.

      Ah the Internet, ya gotta love it !

      1. CanadianMacFan

        Re: If a website is really so bad...

        They are just banning ISPs with a French presence from allowing those sites to be shown to their customers. Doesn't matter where the site is located.

      2. rh587

        Re: If a website is really so bad...

        "How will le plod ban access to web sites not hosted on French soil ? Scan all of cyberspace for pages displaying the banned IP addresses and threaten to close down their site owner's local French embassies? Send the paras ?"

        Probably have Telcos do what BT did to block the Pirate Bay - which was to change the record on their default DNS service to point at their own page telling you not to be naughty.

        Changed my computer's default DNS to 8.8.8.8 and presto, magically reappeared ...for downloading linux distros and such...

  2. User McUser
    Go

    Plus ça cha-ching!

    Here's how French ISPs can milk this program:

    Step 1. Register a bunch of domain names all over the world.

    Step 2. Put "terrorism material" on websites at those domains.

    Step 3. Report the sites to the French Government and wait for the ban order.

    Step 4. Cash the check for your "expenses."

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: Plus ça cha-ching!

      Why do that when you can simply redirect your domains to existing terrorist sites?

    2. This post has been deleted by its author

      1. Phil O'Sophical Silver badge

        Re: Plus ça cha-ching!

        Better yet, get a UK ISP to shop you, then you not only get the expenses, but can lay the blame on l'Albion perfide.

    3. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: Plus ça cha-ching!

      NON, NON, NON.

      You ask your fellow ISPs to turn you in (and vice versa). Otherwise, it is too obvious.

      Wait for the ban, and then share the money.

      You aren't quite thinking like a Gallic web operator yet, but you are on the right track.

      1. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Re: Plus ça cha-ching!

        We can always block the sites by parking a tractor over the cables. Gallic enough? Non? *shrugs*

  3. DNTP

    OCLCTIC

    So how do french people pronounce this acronym? To me, its coming out sounding like "ock-lik-tik" which is funny, but I'm not sure correct.

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: OCLCTIC

      Making the name unpronouncable (in any language, including French) will add dramatic effect.

      BANG BANG BANG !

      === Monsieur, this is OCLCTIC, (O SAY L SAY TICK) you have 5 zeconds to open ze door!

      Qui ?

      BANG BANG BANG !

      === Ve are not joking ! Open now or ve cut off your electricity, you terrorist bastard !

      But but .... I am just a lowly smut hoster and distributeur, please don't hurt me !

      == Ah OK! carry on Monsieur.. sorry to disturb you....

  4. phil dude
    WTF?

    lessons from history....

    the script has been written, all we are waiting for is the opening curtain....

    P.

  5. Anonymous Coward
    Thumb Up

    Thank God the French found an abuse-proof way to fight terrorism!!

    This story isn't about that way, but the French are pretty smart people, so I am sure they found a way to fight terrorists with zero risk of collateral damage.

    Now all we need is el Reg to do a little investigative reporting and tell us what it is!

  6. Khaptain Silver badge

    Not so bad really

    Here is a presentation, in French of course, it doesn't actually seem as bad as you might first imagine.

    OCLCTIC

    It's too long for me too translate but too resume things very briefly, there are 4 main sections.

    1: International relations ( Strange she but she doesn't mention what this section actually does) Probably cooperation with CIA, GCHQ etc.

    2: Operations : Taking care of the various web scams, false credit cards, piracy and mobile telephony scams ( automatic SMSs sent in the background to over-taxed tel. numbers etc).

    3: Technical Assistance - Informing the public about dangers, setting up stategy for safe usage etc. A kind of hotline.

    4: Tracking illegal web content - Paedophilia, Racism, Terrorism etc ... They have a website in which you can notify them of URLs/Sites that contain illicit content.

    They appear to be a mix of both the police and the Gendarmerie and will and do follow up the various affairs. Doesn't look so bad really, this is not some government nanny squad, they actually do appear to be on the look out for the bad guys ( or at least in the video that's how the come across).

    Les Francais sont loin d'etre aussi con que certain peut imaginer.

    1. John Tserkezis

      Re: Not so bad really

      "Doesn't look so bad really, this is not some government nanny squad, they actually do appear to be on the look out for the bad guys"

      Be careful, if you keep telling yourself that, you'll eventually start to believe it.

      They told us that with the Australian Internet Filter. Then, even before being "officially" released, they blocked a Queensland dentist. I'm guessing one of the goverment retards that vetted websites saw a photo of a 12 year old girl in a dentist chair getting her teeth done and yelled CHILD PORN! And that's all it takes, the sites apparently weren't double checked, just that a site was flagged was enough to put it on the banned list.

      Not only that, the leaked list(s) were a near-treasure trove of porn sites. Which was very welcome for those who partake in the passtime.

    2. localzuk Silver badge

      Re: Not so bad really

      Who gave those random employees the right to make decisions about what content could be seen by the population of France? Were they elected? Is there a sensible way to appeal such a block? Is there a process to ensure the sites being blocked are only those which are illegal? Lots of problems with it.

      Saying "not so bad" is kinda dumb.

    3. regadpellagru

      Re: Not so bad really

      "Les Francais sont loin d'être aussi cons que certains peuvent l'imaginer."

      Je suis bien d'accord !

      But in this instance of policy, it is totally retarded and will fail in the usual way:

      - extend the powers to any copper (within 2 years I'm sure)

      - see any forum being kicked whenever a bot posts something terror-like plus any website any copper don't like

      - no more forum hosted in France (are there any to be honest ?)

      This plus the smart people who will game the system as alredy devised higher in those columns.

      And then a report in newspaper the darn thing costed millions ...

  7. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    time to bring down the internet....

    ok so.

    hire some time on a botnet

    get it to post lots of abusive material in the forums on said sites, low level stuff about the french police and government should do it.

    wait for OCLCTIC to react to this unacceptable material and watch all those targeted sites to get pulled off line.

    Le Facebook,

    La Twitter,

    Le Tax Office,

    Le Gendarme,

    la President.

    etc.

    we can dream :-(

    ;-)

    1. Mark 85

      Re: time to bring down the internet....

      Might as well add El Reg from many of the comments lately on this story and others like it.

  8. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Surprise, surprise

    A French colleague in the EEC (old EU) once explained the French national character to me as "a bunch of anarchists who like to elect authoritarian governments".

    He also analysed the EEC problem with the British "Once you have signed up to a rule - then you believe you are obliged to obey it".

  9. This post has been deleted by its author

    1. Shades

      Re: Re. Surpise, surprise

      Have you been holding that rant in for a while and suddenly decided not to wait for a relevant article to be published? I'm struggling to fathom its pertinence to the post you replied to or the article in general?

    2. localzuk Silver badge

      Re: Re. Surpise, surprise

      What? How does this have any relation to the article here?

  10. Anonymous Coward
    Joke

    are they open to suggestions?

    I think 8.8.8.8 hosts some bad stuff.

  11. Crazy Operations Guy

    Illico shouldn't refuse

    They should just pad the hell out of the bill (Yep, its going to cost 100,000 euros per customer per block request, we'll need to install a firewall for each of them).

  12. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Liberté, Egalité, Fraternité!

    As enforced by your 'anti-fascist' socialist state.

  13. Conundrum1885

    RE. Re. Surprise surprise

    It seems that the French Government have fallen into the logical trap of removing existing rights for the illusion of more security.

    It it interesting to note that thanks to an overlap of networks my 3G dongle sometimes picks up Voda FR and connects to it.

POST COMMENT House rules

Not a member of The Register? Create a new account here.

  • Enter your comment

  • Add an icon

Anonymous cowards cannot choose their icon

Other stories you might like