FAQ

Why “La Quadrature du Net” ?

We believe that the promoters of the projects we are opposing to are trying to solve a problem similar to squaring the circle. They did not understand that the era has changed, that some approaches are outdated, that we must collectively rethink our approach to the control of information.

We believe that it is impossible to effectively control the flow of information in the digital age by the law and the technology without harming public freedoms, and damaging economic and social development. This is what we call squaring the net.

We agree with the idea expressed by Jacques Attali related to the draft of the Olivennes law, when he presented the Committee’s report about economic growth to the parliament: “we cannot develop economical growth by installing surveillance and tracing.”

For the record, according to the online encyclopedia Wikipedia, squaring the circle is a classic problem of mathematics appearing in geometry. It is one of three major problems of the ancient world, with the trisection of the angle and the duplication of the cube.

In the oldest mathematical text found, Rhind papyrus (~ 1650 BC.), The scribe Queen Ahmose already proposed approximate solution of the problem. However, we had to wait until 1882 for the German mathematician Ferdinand von Lindemann to show the transcendence of π, proving the impossibility of solving the problem of squaring the circle: it is impossible to construct, using only a ruler and compass, a square whose surface is exactly equal to the surface of a disk.

The question now is how many centuries it will be necessary for the law makers to return to reason? Are we in the field of law and ICT closer to BC -1650 or 1882?

What are the projects you work on?

Please, go to our proposals to learn about the issues that we are working on.

How can you participate?

You will find all the information you need on our How to Help? page.

How do I become a member of La Quadrature du Net?

La Quadrature du Net is not an organisation based on membership and is not intended to recruit a large group of members. The only “members” of the association are the individuals – mostly founders of La Quadrature du Net – of the “Directions Council”, responsible for making strategic decisions: Philippe Aigrain (president), Benjamin Bayart, Lionel Maurel, Benjamin Sonntag (treasurer), Félix Tréguer (secretary) et Jérémie Zimmermann.

The various projects, the campaigns, and the day-to-day functioning of the association are only based on voluntary contributions. Everyone can take part in this beautiful adventure. You can also support it financially.

Why don’t you make petitions?

La Quadrature du Net willfully choose not to start petitions.

  • Starting petitions is quite easy, but maintaining it is a full-time job
  • Moreover, at this scale, we need millions of signatures in order to be noticed. It can even be counterproductive: a petition with only a few signatures could be used as an argument to strengthen the theory that nobody cares about freedoms related to digital issues instead of a lack of human spare time.
  • Petitions are massively used lately for almost any cause. That makes it harder and harder to be noticed, even with a huge amount of signatures.

If you have further questions, feel free to contact us.