Globenet was created in February 1995, to further the goals of several groups and NGO interested in internet, the new media and how to use it. Collaborating with organisations such as WISE International, APC (Association for Progressive Communication), Reporters without Borders, ANAIS network for Internet in Africa, Globenet explored the early potentialities of a "network of networks" for NGO and militant organisations.

Since 2001, with Placenet, French Data Network (non-profit internet access providers), Gandi (low price domain names registrar) and Netaktiv (web design company), Globenet created Gitoyen, a co-operated and non-profit telecom operator ; this allows us to share the costs and reinforce our technical independence.

In 2002, Globenet set up a free internet and email access for the general public, called No-log, which protects privacy. Globenet is commited to providing electronic communication not as a source of profits but as an end in itself.

Globenet is part of the Fédération Informatique et Liberté (Computer and Freedom Federation), french watchdog garding the internet privacy issue, created while the first French laws about internet monitoring were passed in 2002.

Globenet co-hosted the national Zelig event, workshops and conferences about activist computing and networking and took part in the Médialab, workshops and conferences about internet media during the European Social Forum.

Nowadays, Globenet defines itself as a non-profit open internet services provider, concerned with privacy and freedom of speech issues.

As of July 2006, Globenet has provided:
– 250 webhosting accounts
– 400 web sites
– 350 mailing lists
– 7000 email accounts
– 8 open workshops on networks, software and politics since January 2005

As of November 2007
No-log has provided:
– 70000 email accounts
– 1500 accounts receiving mails per day
– 5000 hours of Internet connexion per month

What makes Globenet special is:
– the variety of the services: full hosting, dedicated servers, internet access, free email
– a total independence: no external subsidy, autonomous and free technical and non-technical management by volunteers, autonomous and free network connection
– an ongoing effort for openness and transparency
– strong defense of privacy and of freedom of speech

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NOVEMBER 2007 SPECIAL

a new piece of legislation in France
(rightly an agreement between the state
and about thirty corporations)

AGREEMENT FOR THE DEVELOPEMENT OF PIECES OF ART
AND CULTURALS PROGRAMS ON THE NEW NETWORKS

November, 24th 2007

a partial translation by Globenet/no-log
(being not so fluent in english, we apologize for any mistake in spell or language as for any misinterpretation of the original text)

The agreement was set between:
– The french government
– The ’cultural industries’ representatives
– The main Internet Providers in France

We have translated:
– the part one (the vows from the governemnt)
– the introduction and a part of the conclusion of the presidential speech
(the French president being at the origin of the agreement).

AGREEMENT FOR THE DEVELOPEMENT OF PIECES OF ART
AND CULTURALS PROGRAMS ON THE NEW NETWORKS

[preamble]

Our country disposes of one of the cultural industries that is among thestrongest on this planet.
It is lucky for the preservation and the developement of the cultural identity and influence of france and of Europe.
Our country also benefits from an Internet industry amongst the developed in the world. This is an advantage int the battle for immaterial economy.
These advantages must not be annuled but, at the opposite, one have tocomplete each other for the strongest interest of the consumers who will
dispose of powerful networks and of rich and diverse cultural contents.
This is with this ambition that the parties in this agreement have wished to take concerted and redeable action in the fignt for the infringement of copyrights on the internet, and this, with pragmatism, aiming both to stimulate legal offers and to take action - respective of individual liberties – to prevent piracy.

In this spirit, the parties have agreed on
the following principles.

1: THE ’PUBLIC AUTHORITY’ BINDS ITSELF TO:

Propose tho the parliament new legislations and set new regulations,
allowing a mechanims of warnings and punishments, desincentive
infringement of the laws protecting copyrights.
This mechanism should lie on the principle of responsability of the client
of an internet provider.
The pilot of the scheme will be a specialized administrative authority,
placed under the control of a judge, in sort as to guarantee that the
individual rights and liberties anre guaranteed.
This authority will be given any technical and human means necessary for
warning and punishing.
After a legal case raised by the owners of the copyrights, directly of
indirectly through associsations legally entitled to research disrespect
for copyrights, it will send, on her behalf, using internet providers,
electronic messages of warning to the internet provider’s client.
If the authority observs the contituation of the copyright violation, it
will take, by itself or by the intermediation of a judge, sanctions
against the internet provider’s client, ranking from the interruption of
the internet access to resiation of the ’Internet contract’

This autority will dispose of legal pwer to sanction the internet
providers who would not answer, or would not answer in time, to its
orders.

It will make public monthly statistics displaying its activity.

This authority will also be provided – under the control of a judge – with
the capacity to force the thechnical party (internet provider, internet
hoster...) to take any measure to prevent of to make stop a violation of a copyright.

[the authority will be given the ability] to constitue, after an advice
from the CNIL [a state agency whose declared role is to protect the
individual’s rights in the internet age], a national repertory of the
people whose internet acess contract has been canceled for the reasonsstated above.

[the authority will be given the ability] to edit, on a monthly basis, an
indicator setting a measurement, from partial data, of the volume of the
illegaly downloaded files in the matter of music, cinema and television.

[the authority will be given the ability] to solicit tak reductions for cultural goods from the European Commission.
This should benefit totally or partly to the consumer through à lowering
in the prices of the goods.

THE SPEECH OF THE FRENCH PRESIDENT, NICOLAS SARKOZY

[introduction]
Ladies and gentlemen,
The protection of the artist’s rights, the preswervation of creation, the
recognition of the right of any artist, of any interpreter, of any
producer, to see his work normally payed, was an important promise of my
presidential campain.
For three years, I enlisted myself, as meuch as was necessary, to make the
legitimate right of the others and of those who permit the autors to
exist, to win over the illusion and even the lie of free arts [the sense
being, the price paid by the consumer is zero]

[quote from the conclusion]
Everywhere, in the United States, in the United Kingdom and elswhere, the
enterprises and the governments try, since years, not withoud difficulty,
to fing the « Holy Grail » permitting to solve the problem of piracy. We
are the first, in France, to succed, today, to constitute a large alliance
around well defined and operational proposals.
Thanks to you, and to this agreement, France we ba again in a position of
« laeder » [in English and between brackets in the original] in the
campain for the « civilizing » of the new networks.