Digital organizations call on MPs to reject provisions that would weaken the digital economy
By introducing disproportionate obligations to strengthen consumer rights, and by anticipating European texts, many of the provisions of the bill weaken the French digital economy. Portability, new constraints imposed on platforms and an attack on the neutrality of public procurement: in its current wording, the text imposes constraints likely to jeopardize R&D investments by startups, SMEs and digital companies, in a sector that accounts for 25% of GDP growth. Despite the efforts of the rapporteurs and the constructive approach of Minister Axelle Lemaire to clarify a number of provisions, the bill as it stands risks undermining the most innovative and growth-generating sector of the economy. AFDEL, FEVAD, SFIB and Syntec Numérique are calling on the government and national representatives to amend the text in the public session in order to preserve an attractive, diverse ecosystem conducive to the growth of French Tech.
The Digital Republic bill attempts to impose new, local constraints on a sector that is by nature international, extremely diverse and constantly evolving. Digital organizations, for example, are concerned about the creation of a new status for online platforms, at a time when a consultation is underway at European level on the advisability of classifying a multiplicity of players in a single category. Establishing Franco-French rules for an extremely dynamic business model would directly undermine the country’s attractiveness to investors and startups, and create barriers to entry.
While the status of hosting provider has now been stabilized at European level, and has proved its effectiveness, the Digital Act once again modifies the framework for online platforms, without actually providing any new guarantees for users.Digital organizations are therefore calling on the public authorities to encourage this sector by making its regulatory environment more durable, and by systematically respecting the hierarchy of standards, and first and foremost the European framework.
The digital industry’s professional organizations are also calling on the French government to maintain the incentive to innovate in France, and to align itself with European standards.It is therefore vital that the right to portability, which has just been adopted in the European Data Protection Regulation, is not pre-empted by the work about to begin at European Union level, aimed at harmonizing the interpretation and operational clarification of this right.
In any case, the scope of application of the right to portability currently provided for in the draft text, which will weigh primarily on e-commerce, Internet services and French nuggets, must at all costs be clarified. Its broad scope imposes extremely onerous constraints on sectors where portability is of no interest from a consumer or competition point of view. As it stands, it directly threatens the massive investments made by companies in the sector to improve their services, for example in online music or customer relationship management tools.
The enrichment and transformation of data is today at the heart of innovation in both the digital world and more traditional sectors of the economy. It is legitimate for consumers to be able to recover the data they have provided, but companies must not be forced to transfer the fruit of the value provided by their service. AFDEL, FEVAD, SFIB and Syntec Numérique have heard the desire expressed yesterday by the government and Parliament to find a definition that reflects a more favorable balance on the subject and is in line with European law. They strongly encourage the national representatives to commit to this during the vote in session.
The Digital Republic bill also claims to dictate companies’ choice of business models,with one amendment enshrining the promotion of open source software in the law. Digital organizations representing both open-source and proprietary software publishers are expressing their deepest concern at this departure from the government’s principle of technological neutrality. They point out that 90% of French software publishers have opted for the proprietary model to finance their R&D, and would de facto be excluded from public procurement. The digital organizations call on the government to put an end to this discrimination, so that all software business models can exist and have access to public procurement.