Le Monde to challenge trade secrets decision
French newspaper Le Monde signalled last week that it intends to appeal against a decision by an administrative authority to deny it access to documents on the grounds of protecting trade secrets.
The move came as part of the newspaper’s investigation on the “Implant Files”, concerning the effect of medical implants on patients.
The “Implant Files” investigation is a collaborative international effort co-ordinated by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ). The ICIJ describes the project as “a global investigation that tracks the harm caused by medical devices that have been tested inadequately or not at all”.
Maxime Vaudano, a journalist for Le Monde, reported on Wednesday, November 28, that the newspaper would file an appeal with the Administrative Court of Paris against the decision of the Commission for Access to Administrative Documents (CADA), an administrative authority, to deny it access to documents held by LNE/G-MED, a body that certifies the suitability of medical devices for the commercial market.
Le Monde journalist Stéphane Horel issued a request on May 14 for a list of all medical devices certified by LNE/G-MED, as well as those which had been rejected. The newspaper applied for the release of the documents through CADA, which arbitrates disputes concerning the release of “administrative documents and public archives”.
CADA rejected the request for access on the grounds that it “could undermine business confidentiality” and “reveal the behaviour of a manufacturer under conditions likely to cause him harm”.
Le Monde has criticised the decision, with Vaudano writing that “the invocation of business secrecy is all the more surprising since it normally aims to protect a company against the disclosure of confidential data to its competitors, while LNE/G-MED merely certifies medical devices.”
Horel, in a column published in Le Monde on Tuesday, November 27, described “non-transparency in the name of trade secrecy” as being among “the main obstacles to the 1,500 requests for access to public documents made during the international investigation”.
The newspaper cited the French Law No. 2018-670 of 30 July 2018 on the protection of business secrecy in its argument against the decision. According to a translated version of the law, trade secrecy does not supersede “the right to freedom of expression and communication, including respect for the freedom of the press, and freedom of information as proclaimed in the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union”.
The law is based on the trade secrets directive introduced by the EU in 2016.
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