James Delahunty
15 Apr 2009 17:58
Just days ago, we reported that the French National Assembly had rejected the proposed "three strikes" legislation in a defeat for the ruling UMP party. Following the vote, French President Nicolas Sarkozy revealed he was determined to get it passed to protect creative diversity. The film and music industries have lobbied the French government vigorously for a tougher approve to Internet piracy.
The parliament will vote again on the legislation on April 29. Under the proposed law, a user would be warned twice when caught downloading and sharing pirate content, and would be disconnected for a year the third time. Opposition parties regarded it as inefficient and consumer advocates were worried that it could end up hitting the wrong people.
There is always a risk of hijacked connections being used for piracy, which is a very real danger when unprotected or badly protected wireless networks are used. The bill was defeated in a vote of the National Assembly despite already being approved by the Senate. Two members of President Sarkozy's majority government joined the opposition to the bill.
The two dissenting votes, allied with the opposition, were made only in protest to a clause that would have forced Internet users who were cut off to keep paying their bill regardless. The warnings and subsequent connection suspension would be delivered at the demand of a new state agency setup for the task.