Internet leaders join Paris summit
Sarkozy invites big names from online world to discuss copyright, privacy and the political role of the internet
A THOUSAND of the biggest names in the online world are gathering in Paris today and tomorrow for a special summit launched by President Sarkozy.
Bosses from Google, Facebook, eBay, Amazon, Skype and Wikipedia are among the guests at the e-G8 meeting in the Jardin des Tuileries in Paris.
The invite-only event will include a series of round-table meetings and workshops tackling issues ranging from privacy and copyright to the role the internet played in political uprisings in Egypt and Tunisia.
It is an opportunity for Sarkozy to boost his online credentials. He has been criticised in the past for "not understanding what the internet is about" after he suggested that the medium needed better regulation to curb its moral excesses.
Sarkozy has also admitted encountering difficulties in the application of France's anti-piracy law, Hadopi. He told French bloggers and web entrepreneurs at a meeting earlier this year that the law was flawed and needed further work.
The e-G8 discussions will feed into the main G8 meeting in Deauville, which starts on Friday. More than 12,000 police, gendarmes and army officers will patrol the Normandy seaside town as it welcomes world leaders.
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