Abstract:Increased citizen participation is a core element of both Web 2.0 applications and the concept(s) of e-democracy. This paper proposes a prospective view of how the Web 2.0 can be used in the context of e-democracy. After a review of both concepts, the main perceptions of internet users concerning their political activity on the internet are highlighted by an online survey realised in January-March 2007. Various Web 2.0 applications are then discussed in the light of VEDELs axis -information, discussion and decision-making -in order to identify how they may enhance the implication of citizens in the political process through the internet.Keywords: e-democracy; Web 2.0; emerging applications; participation; social bookmarking; e-participation; politics; democracy; information and communication technologies; internet; survey.Reference to this paper should be made as follows: Breindl, Y. and Francq, P. (2008) 'Can Web 2.0 applications save e-democracy? A study of how new internet applications may enhance citizen participation in the political process online', Int.

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Liberal democracies are increasingly considering internet filtering as a means to assert state control over online information exchanges. A variety of filtering techniques have been implemented in Western states to prevent access to certain content deemed harmful. This development poses a series of democratic and ethical questions, particularly when states introduce regulation mandating internet service providers to block online content. In this article we examine the debates surrounding filtering that have played out in two key European states, France and Germany, focusing on the arguments used by opponents and proponents of internet blocking. We use these to explain and analyse the outcomes of both cases and, more broadly, the various challenges posed by internet blocking to democracy.

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International audienceIn the past decade, parliaments in industrialized countries have been pressured to adopt more restrictive legislation to prevent unauthorized file sharing and enforce higher standards of digital copyright enforcement over entertainment media and computer software. A complex process of supranational and national lawmaking has resulted in several legislatures adopting such measures, with wide variations in content and implementation. These policy developments offer an interesting research puzzle, given their high political salience and the amount of controversy they have generated. Specifically, the introduction of harsher intellectual property regulations has resulted in intense 'online' and 'offline' collective action by skilled activists who have significantly altered the digital copyright policy field over the years. In France, grassroots movements have turned the passing of digital copyright infringement laws through Parliament into highly controversial episodes. Similarly, at the European level, the Telecoms Package Reform has given rise to an intense protest effort, carried by an ad hoc coalition of European activists. In both cases, online mobilization was an essential element of political contention against these legislative initiatives. In both cases, our analysis shows that online mobilization and contention can substantially affect policy making by disrupting the course of parliamentary lawmaking at both the national and European levels. We provide an analytical framework to study these processes, as well as an analysis of the frames and digital network repertoires involved in the two cases under scrutiny, with reference to the nascent research agenda formed by the politics of intellectual property