G-8 Leaders Expected to Call for Anti-Piracy Measures

Leaders of the Group of 8 industrialized countries plan to call for stronger Internet regulation, including measures against piracy, in a communiqué to be issued at the end of a meeting this week in Deauville, France, the New York Times reported Tuesday.

The G-8 is an unofficial forum of France, the U.S., United Kingdom, Russia, Germany, Japan, Italy and Canada. It’s unknown what practical effect the call for greater regulation will have. G-8 ministers meet at various times during the year, and the G-8 leaders meet annually. This year’s gathering was preceded by a meeting in Paris of Internet company leaders, called the E-G8 Forum and convened by French president Nicolas Sarkozy.

The communiqué is also expected to call for greater protection of children online and of online privacy rights. In addition, it will include language favoring openness and entrepreneurial, rather than government-led, development of the Internet, the Times reported.

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