The Conseil national du numérique (French Digital Council, abbreviated CNNum or less commonly CNN) is a French independent advisory commission created on 29 April 2011 by the French presidential decree n°2011-476. It was reorganized and expanded by another French presidential decree on 13 December 2012, to expand its spectrum of actions to all the questions set up by the development of the digital in society and economy.
The council issues independent opinions and recommendations on any question relating to the impact of digital technologies on economy and society. The government can consult the council on new legislation or draft regulations.
History
In October 2014, the CNNum got responsible for organising a national consultation on the french digital strategy ("Digital Ambition" or Ambition numérique) which would lead to the drafting of the law for a digital republic. On June 18, 2015, the Ambition Numérique report was handed over to the French Prime Minister Manuel Valls by the president of the Conseil national du numérique, Benoit Thieulin, in presence of Ministers and Secretaries Emmanuel Macron, Marisol Touraine, Clotilde Valter and Axelle Lemaire. During the ceremony, Manuel Valls announced the digital strategy of the French government.
On February 10, 2016, Mounir Mahjoubi was appointed president of the council by former president of the French Republic François Hollande. Mahjoubi launched a project on the digital transformation of SMEs, the digitisation of universities and digital inclusion. In January 2017, he resigned from the CNNum to join Emmanuel Macron's presidential campaign as Digital Leader. He was then appointed Secretary of State for Digital Affairs on May 17, 2017. Following his resignation, the presidency of the council is assumed in a collegial manner by three vice-presidents : Guy Mamou-Mani, Sophie Pène and Amal Taleb.
In December 2017, the government repealed the decree of December 13, 2012 and replaced it with a new decree, appointing thirty new members. The Government appointed Marie Ekeland, co-founder of the Daphni investment fund, as president. On 19 December 2017, President Marie Ekeland and 28 of the 29 other members resigned following a controversy arising from the request for the ouster of Rokhaya Diallo, who had been appointed a few days earlier. This episode raises the question of the council's independence from the French government, with Marie Ekeland deploring in her letter of resignation that "the current form of appointment and functioning of the council is confusing and cannot guarantee its independence". The controversy attracted public attention and was related by The New York Times under the title "France Fails to Face Up to Racism".
After several months of vacancies, a new term of office was appointed on 29 May 2018, with Salwa Toko as president. In 2019, the French newspaper Acteurs publics writes that "a year after its formation, the Conseil national du numérique starts at last to play its part as switchman and, sometimes, as contradictor to the Government".
Following the text of Law No. 2018-699 of August 3, 2018 aimed at guaranteeing the presence of members of parliaments in certain bodies outside Parliament and simplifying the procedures for their appointment, the CNNum must include among its members two deputies and two senators appointed by the presidents of the two parliamentary chambers, the National Assembly and the Senate.
Since 2018, the CNNum has published several reports on digital accessibility, platform workers, digitisation of the health system, digital identity, or the environmental impact of digital technologies.
Citizens consultations
The council can be mandated by the French government to organize citizens consultations over different topics, usually regarding issues related to digital regulation. These consultations are open to all and can be organized online as well as during "contributive events", where participants are invited to collectively reflect on one topic.
The General Estates on new digital regulations
In July 2018, the French secretary of state for digital affairs and former president of the CNNum, Mounir Mahjoubi, tasked the French Digital Council with the organisation of a large citizens consultation on new digital regulations, entitled "General Estates on new digital regulations" (états généraux des nouvelles régulations du numérique), under the patronage of French prime minister Edouard Philippe.
First phase
From July 2018 to January 2019, working groups including CNNum members, experts and administrations worked on public regulations scenarios divided in four topics: