Legal obligations for web filtering
In France, there are a number of legal obligations regarding Internet filtering and logging. At a time when there are increasing numbers of court cases relating to Internet use in the workplace, the duty to filter, log, or implement charters is now well established, whether in terms of the law, case law, or best practices and customs.
Today, numerous laws impose or legitimize filtering and log retention, exposing companies to a number of risks if they are not complied with.
Failure to comply with these obligations exposes the company to various risks:
The risk of failing to comply with the legal obligation:
The obligation to install filters and retain connection data for one year, imposed on Internet service providers (ISPs) by Article 6 of the Law on Confidence in the Digital Economy (LCEN), has been extended to all those who provide Internet access under the Anti-Terrorism Act of January 23, 2006.
Furthermore, Article L.34 of the French Postal and Electronic Communications Code (CPCE), supplemented by the Anti-Terrorism Act (2006), stipulates that: "Persons who, in the course of their professional activities [...] offer the public a connection enabling online communication [...], including free of charge, are subject to compliance with the provisions applicable to electronic communications operators."
Consequently, the anti-terrorism law treats companies as telecommunications operators, and it was this provision that was referred to in the BNP Paribas case, which was convicted for failing to provide logs upon judicial request.
The risk associated with unauthorized access:
The illegality of a website under French law does not necessarily stem from Internet-related legislation, but rather from laws applicable to everyday life.
There is a real risk that the necessary measures to prevent unauthorized access have not been implemented:
- To websites due to their content: protection of minors, copyright protection, illegal online gaming, etc.
- To sites that exceed the limits of freedom of expression: racism, Holocaust denial, etc.
- To websites based on the products and services they sell: online sales of medicines, tobacco, or alcohol, etc.
The special risk associated with Hadopi:
The holder of Internet access is obligated to ensure that such access does not allow for the infringement of intellectual property rights through the illegal downloading of copyrighted works.
The subscriber is "simply" required to ensure that Internet access does not allow intellectual property rights to be infringed through the illegal downloading of copyrighted works.
To do so, they must implement a means of securing their access to the network, which, according to Hadopi, consists of a means of recognizing content and filtering.
In practice, this means that companies and government agencies must implement measures to filter network access.
How to implement and deploy a web filtering solution?
Today, implementing a content filtering tool and logging users' Internet usage is a requirement for every institution in order to comply with the law.
The question is therefore no longer "can we filter and log?" but rather how can we deploy such solutions in compliance with French law?
Since 2009, Olfeo has been working closely with the Lexing Alain Bensoussan law firm to offer legal expertise to its clients and develop a solution that provides optimal legal protection.
Building on this partnership, Olfeo is co-authoring a legal white paper with the firm that addresses, among other things, the web filtering deployment plan.
