Sarkozy Proposes Rival Digitization Plan Made in France
As a key (and culturally symbolic) part of its grandiose global design to make and compile electronic copies of all existing books, Google, the U.S. online search giant, has long sought to digitize the nearly 15 million books on the shelves of the French National Library. From the outset, Google’s ambitions have met opposition in some French circles, and now President Nicolas Sarkozy has put his foot down, announcing that Paris will put up more than $1 billion to fund its own national electronic-scanning project for France’s body of literary work.
"Googled, The End of the World as We Know It," by Ken Auletta, will not be the last book written about Google, but it is likely to be the definitive word on Google as adolescent.
The Precautionary Principle has become an important aspect of European Union regulatory and legal jurisprudence. Its ascendancy, however, drives some, particularly conservative intellectuals in the US, into fits of free market frenzy.
The Honorable Margot Wallström, Vice President of the European Commission and Commissioner for Institutional Relations and Communications Strategy discussed the challenges of communicating Europe to 500 million citizens in 27 member states, and the methods in which the European Union is utilizing to bridge the information gap between Brussels and the rest of Europe. Dr. Beth Noveck, Deputy Technology Officer for Open Government in the Executive Office of the President presented the American perspective and how methods of new media impacted the U.S. 2008 Presidential election. Ian Koski, Senior Manager at Blue State Media and Aaron Smith, Research Specialist with the Pew Internet & American Life Project, also offered their views.
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