Following its adoption by the Assemblée Nationale on 8 Jan 2004, the French Senate has now also adopted the "Projet de loi pour la confiance dans l'économie numérique".

Articles 37quater and 37sexies, relating to the power of the National Regulatory Authority to apply ex-ante retail tariff control, and which were the subject of much controversy, were NOT adopted.

The article relating to the liability of Internet Service Providers and Hosting Providers for hosted content has been removed.

The article relating to the right of public authorities (municipalities, groups of municipalities, regional authorities, etc.) to become telecommunications operators in their own right has been confirmed. 

The issue of retail tariff control is transferred to the "Projet de loi Communications électroniques - Services de communication audiovisuelle", on which T-REGS reported earlier during the Assemblée Nationale debate.

The examination of the "Projet de loi Communications électroniques - Services de communication audiovisuelle", (which is the core text relating to the transposition of the EU regulatory framework for electronic communications) by the Senate is being held on 13 and 14 April 2004, in spite of the fact that the Senate's Rapporteur, Mr Larcher, became a government Minister following the recent cabinet reshuffle. A new Rapporteur is appointed.

The provisional text of the LCEN, as it is made available on the Senate's website, can be accessed by clicking here.

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