 Éric Besson was appointed Minister for Industry, Energy and the Digital Economy on 14 November 2010.In December that year, Besson sent a letter to the French state agency governing internet use in order to stop French web hosting company OVH from hosting the WikiLeaks website.The French government had previously deemed WikiLeaks a "criminal" website for violating the "confidentiality of diplomatic relations" and endangering people "protected by diplomatic secrecy", making it illegal for French companies to host WikiLeaks.