Andre Yoskowitz
15 Sep 2009 14:43
France's lower house has today approved the extremely controversial "three-strikes" law for Internet pirates, giving authorities the power to disconnect multiple time offenders from the Internet completely.
The media industry has been behind the bill in the UK, France and other nations for some time now, but strong criticism, from groups who claim the bill will threaten our civil liberties, has kept it as just a bill for over a year now.
The French Culture Ministry has said they expect about 1000 French Internet users to be kicked offline, every day, if the bill becomes law. Besides being disconnected, pirates also face a fine as high as euro 300,000 (about $440,000 USD).
Unknowing parents whose kids use the family computer to download unauthorized content are also subject to the law, which will have the family's Internet cut off for a month along with a euro 3,750 fine.
The National Assembly voted to pass the bill with a final tally of 285-225 in favor.
Culture Minister Frederic Mitterrand added: "Artists will remember that we at last had the courage to break with the laissez-faire approach and protect their rights from people who want to turn the net into their libertarian utopia."
Enforcement of the law still remains utterly questionable, with lawmakers and the media industry still working out the methods.
Maybe it's just me, but I don't see how they can expect us to purchase the music legally, if 1000 possible customers are kicked off the Internet everyday.