PARIS (Reuters) - French President Nicolas Sarkozy has relaxed its position usually on the regulation of the Internet in a forum which brought together the tech titans in Paris, but the stark divisions remained on everything from the private life of copyright law.
Nicolas Sarkozy, who is infamous among the techies to create a law that calls for to be cut off from the Internet, copyright pirates welcomed the gathering of executives that included Google Inc., Eric Schmidt and Facebook Mark Zuckerberg to help fuel Arab spring and stimulate economic growth.
But he maintained that Governments have a role in the establishment of basic rules to limit abuses and excesses of the Internet, set up a clash with Schmidt, who said that no gain if "some stupid rule" stunted the growth of the Web.
As speakers marched on a stage built in the garden of the Tuileries Gardens in the Centre of Paris, deep rifts between decision makers and the leaders of the Internet became apparent, with little evidence of how they will be resolved in the two-day forum.
A release of project reviewed by Reuters, which is being finalized for release at the end of the forum, suggests that the gathering will be seal deep divisions and make concrete proposals.
The project urge the G8 leaders to adopt an international approach for the protection of personal data of users, but will avoid the heavy issue of intellectual property by leaving largely under the aegis of national Governments.
Copyright has proven one of the questions more source of discord in the forum. Great music executives and publishing groups have argued for better protection of their works, while activists and Internet executives criticise the anti-piracy measures, such as the law against piracy France, as nature crimping open essential Web.
Yochi Benkler, a professor at Harvard University known for championing the ideas of open source, said Governments must be careful on the unexpected consequences of strict rules of copyright.
"You can make the Internet safe for Justin Bieber and Lady Gaga, or you can make without danger to the next Skype," said Benkler, referring to the two stars of pop music and the Internet start-up telephony service a success. "We need to choose."
The release of the project attempts to split the difference.
"With respect to the protection of intellectual property... We recognize the need for national legislation and enhanced enforcement frameworks, while encouraging the development of e-commerce goods and content that are respectful of intellectual property," he said.
THE PRIVACY DEBATE
The question of how to protect the users lose control of their personal data or be followed by companies for profit also was the source of division at the forum.
Cultural differences between the United States and Europe were deep, with the Europeans less prepared to waive their right to privacy in exchange for benefits of new services like Facebook and more willing to turn to regulation than their American counterparts.
Privacy issues are moving center stage after the high-profile hack of the network of the PlayStation in a regulatory review in Europe and Sony Corp., which could lead to more strict on the Internet, companies as requirements save their databases and to notify users of violations of data.
The release of the draft does not propose solutions. "We encourage the development of common approaches to national legal frameworks taking into account, based on fundamental rights and to protect the personal data, while allowing the transfer legitimate data, he said."
A delegation of executives from the Internet are set to go to the French meeting of the G8 in the seaside resort of Deauville later this week to present findings of the forum for the heads of State.
Maurice Levy, Executive Director of advertising firm Publicis, which is the host of the Conference, said that the Group did not resolve many debates on the future of the Internet.
"The final document should not be a consensus document," he said. "There may be contradictions." It could present disagreements. ?
(Other reports by Matt Cowan and Gwenaelle Barzic;) Editing by David Holmes and Gerald e. McCormick)
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