Hello,

The French government is working on a law that could threaten the free internet.

The so-called SREN bill (‘Projet de loi visant à sécuriser et réguler l’espace numérique’) is designed to increase online safety. But the draft dramatically overreaches, and includes a section that would give the government the power to censor what you can and cannot see online.

This bill would require web browsers – like Mozilla's Firefox – to block websites chosen by the government in the browsers themselves. It would set a dangerous precedent, providing a playbook for other governments to also turn browsers into censorship tools.

We can still stop this – but we don’t have much time. The government introduced the bill to Parliament shortly before the summer break and is hoping to pass this as quickly and smoothly as possible; the bill has even been put on an accelerated procedure, with a vote to take place this fall.

Our goal is to mount a massive public campaign in France that will inform the public and mobilise them against this part of the bill. Adding a donation now will help us launch our campaign by the time Parliament considers this bill.

Please donate $25 to Mozilla and help build a campaign to tell the French government to remove browser-level censorship from the SREN bill. Your donation will go towards helping to stop governments from using browsers like Mozilla's Firefox as censorship tools.

The bill includes a number of well-intended measures, including implementing recent EU legislation for which we’ve been advocating. However, its Article 6 – which would introduce browser-level blocking of websites chosen by the government – goes far beyond the EU's common-sense internet security measures.

The government says that these powers are needed to combat fraud and phishing. But they’re too far-reaching. Instead, the government's proposal is nothing short of internet censorship inside of web browsers.

Mozilla has been fighting for a free and safe internet for 25 years. In the past, we’ve successfully defended net neutrality and fought off threats to the open internet we love. Together, let’s add another win to this list.

Donate $25 – or whatever amount you can today – to make sure that we stop this part of the bill from becoming law. We need to organise a massive public campaign to stop the French government from forcing browsers to censor the web.

Thank you for defending the open internet,

Claire Pershan

EU Advocacy Lead
Mozilla