French kill three-strikes-and-you're-out law

 

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Posted on 9 Apr 2009 at 16:33

A tough French law that would have cut off the internet connection of film and music pirates has been voted down.

The Creation and Internet Law would have allowed for a "three-strikes-and-you're-out" system, in which a pirate could expect to receive two emailed warnings before having his or her broadband disconnected.

The law was expected to pass this afternoon after passing through the French Senate, but the French Socialist Party exploited a near-empty chamber to defeat the bill 21-15.

Had it passed, the law would have been one of the most draconinan anti-piracy measures in the world.

President Nicholas Sarkozy has said internet pirates were "pillaging" online content, while Culture Minister Christine Albanel described the law as "a balanced bill for a legal and civilised internet." One in three French internet users admit to pirating copyrighted material over the internet.

However, the bill has also been described as "dangerous, useless, inefficient, and very risky" by Socialist Party member Patrick Bloche, and its detractors point out that it would be almost impossible to enforce.

It would be difficult, for instance, to convict someone if they claimed someone had hijacked their wireless connections. Others pointed out the unfairness of depriving an entire family of its internet connection if a single member - a teenager, for instance - had been downloading copyrighted content. The bill also fails to take account of those pirating material by streaming, rather than downloading it.

The French Secretary of State, Roger Karoutchi, said after the vote that the the bill was merely delayed. It's expected to return to the French Parliament this summer.

Author: Dave Stevenson