French downloaders facing web cut-off D-Day

 

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By Stewart Mitchell

Posted on 6 Oct 2011 at 13:00

Sixty French internet users risk having their internet connections cut off after failing to act on notices warning them to stop downloading copyright material.

The UK is still some way from implementing the “three strikes” rule outlined in the Digital Economy Act (DEA), but France has been more energetic, with its Hadopi (Haute Autorité pour la Diffusion des Oeuvres et la Protection des Droits sur Internet) agency already sending letters to 650,000 people since last October.

According to Hadopi officials, 44,000 users have received a second letter warning them to stop downloading music and films. The 60 who have ignored it face a grilling from officials who will visit them in their homes.

The outcome of those meetings will determine whether the agency pursues prosecution, with those targeted for action facing a €1,500 fine and a month with no web connection.

The three-strikes rule is contentious and one of the stumbling blocks to the UK's DEA coming into force, with ISPs contesting that it goes against European law.