France builds a second Maginot Line, against the Internet
This may be old news to some. The French have moved against online gaming on two fronts. Fortunately, the EU is giving them a hard time:
1. blacklisted sites: One measure requires an ISP to clearly inform their subscribers about the illicit character of some online gaming sites listed by the Interior Ministry: On 20th July, EU issued a negative detailed opinion concerning the draft decree on the basis of its incompatibility with article 49 of the European Community Treaty. France must therefore respect a standstill period ending 24 October 2007, during which it is not entitled to adopt the ISP decree and must reply to the Commission. France cannot pull a US-WTO and ignore the EU.
2. Another measure requires French financial institutions to stop the transfer of funds stemming from online gaming operators: no decree has yet been published but an unoffocial version is circulating amongst financial institutions, some of which have already started to apply blocking measures. Moreover, it is unsure whether the draft would have to be notified under directive 98/48. The Commission should give an answer soon.
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