Sarkozy hosts summit on future of the Internet

The world’s most powerful Internet and media executives are gathered in the French capital for a two-day meeting hosted by President Nicolas Sarkozy to discuss the future of the Internet. The e-G8 guest list includes Google’s Eric Schmidt, Mark Zuckerberg, the founder of Facebook and Jeff Bezos of retail giant, Amazon. 

Reuters/Lionel Bonaventure

In his opening address, Sarkozy hailed the assembled players as the leaders of the ‘Internet Revolution’ but warned the role came with great responsibility.

“The Internet has become the measure of credibility of democracies and the measure of shame of dictatorships,” he said. But, he warned that its must be underpinned by “values” and “rules”.

Media campaigners such as Reporters Without Borders have criticised moves by some European countries to regulate the Internet, such as a recent French law making web users liable to prosecution if they illegally download films and music.

German and Italian regulators have placed restrictions on Google’s Street View over privacy concerns for people photographed in its online street maps.

Also attending the meeting is Rupert Murdoch, the billionaire head of the global media empire News Corporation, which includes Fox News and the Wall Street Journal, and dubbed by Forbes magazine "the man who owns the news."

President Sarkozy convened the e-G8 to draw up a declaration aimed at Group of Eight
leaders who will meet at their annual summit on Thursday and Friday in the northern French resort of Deauville.