A member of French President Nicolas Sarkozy's administration has that Sarkozy wanted to gather representatives of Internet operators from each of the G8 countries prior to the upcoming international summit. That summit, which is currently slated for May 26-27, is to be held in Deauville, in northern France, according to Deutsche Welle.
"The idea is that representatives from each G8 nation should meet in Deauville before the G8 and produce a report on these questions: What regulation is necessary for the Internet? How to respond to problems of terrorism, pedophilia, and the right to be forgotten?" said the source, whom French wire services did not name.
In December 2010, Sarkozy put forward a similar proposal, calling for "website founders and bloggers from G8 states" to meet on the sidelines of the esteemed conference. He also reportedly discussed the issue during his meeting earlier this week with US President Barack Obama in Washington, D.C.
The French newspaper Le Monde reported on Tuesday that French government interest in increased international regulation of the Internet has been kicking around French political circles since 2008, when Frederic Lefebvre, France's Secretary of State for Trade, called for a "G20 Internet" summit in a speech before the French National Assembly.
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