Print 11 comment(s) - last by SiliconDoc.. on Apr 25 at 4:55 AM

Three Strikes Law out in France

Internet piracy is a hot topic issue.  Across America and other industrialized nations, millions of people are file sharing, illegally transferring copyrighted works.  While this behavior is certainly illicit, the record labels have struggled with exactly how to prosecute so many people.  Meanwhile, plagued with mismanagement and poor releases coupled with a bad economy, corporate record labels like Sony, EMI, and BMG have seen their revenues plunge.

The International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI), parent organization of RIAA, believed it had finally found answer -- lobby for the enactment of anti-piracy laws that would force ISPs to sever the internet of those sharing copyrighted works.  The only problem was no one opted for such laws that would potentially cut millions of internet-using citizens from the internet.

At last, France became the first to officially make headway towards passing such legislation, thanks to personal support from French President Nicolas Sarkozy.  The bill passed through the French Senate and only awaited the National Assembly -- France's equivalent to the House of Representatives.  The bill would create a "three-strikes" policy for file sharers. 

The government would pick up the tab (at taxpayers' expense) to police the internet and search for file sharers.  If someone was found file sharing, they would be sent a warning email.  This would be followed with a letter to the internet service provider (ISP)-provided address.  On the "third strike" the ISP would cancel their service, and they would be disallowed to purchase services from other ISPs.

A major obstacle was European Union laws that prevented such policies.  However, in a special EU meeting of Prime Ministers and Presidents, President Sarkozy bullied the other leaders into agreeing to overturn the ruling, essentially throwing out the European Parliament's consensus.

However, the bill has been struck down by the National Assembly, ultimately undone by a variety of opposing views.  One major sticking point was the reaction from ISPs who were concerned about potentially losing millions in revenue by being forced to sever large number of customers.  Then there were concerns voiced over increased government surveillance and the fact that hackers or internet squatters could usurp innocent users’ connections and lead to their ouster. 

The record industry has struggled in court over proving that file uploads and downloads originated from a specific person's hardware -- a particularly thorny issue for colleges and other locations where multiple people can use the same IP address.

Socialist parliamentarian Patrick Bloche cheered the rejection of the bill, which he called "dangerous, useless, inefficient, and very risky for us citizens."  Two members of Mr Sarkozy's own majority government party broke party lines to vote in opposition to the bill.

Beaten back, President Sarkozy still has plans to punish the pirates.  He and his ministers are working on revised legislation with softer terms, which they will try to reintroduce later in the year.

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Yeah and in other news,
By Chocobollz on 4/18/2009 11:06:52 AM , Rating: 2
someone who killed someone with a knife got banned from buying any knives.

P.S. Have you actually heard a news like that? If you do then WTH?? Internet is just a tool, so why do they'd have to be banned from using the internet? Why don't you just cut out their arms and legs so they can't harm anything anymore?

RE: Yeah and in other news,
By FaceMaster on 4/19/2009 7:16:25 PM , Rating: 2

You sound as if you'd prefer to have your limbs cut off...

RE: Yeah and in other news,
By mindless1 on 4/19/2009 7:59:47 PM , Rating: 2
Yes, I've heard news like that. Felons prevented from buying guns? DUI conviction prevents driving a car? Child molester prevented from living in certain areas? Abusive parent prevented from having custody of child?

I'm not suggesting it's the right answer to the problem, but even in your example the killer is banned from buying knives since they are, if found guilty of murder, tending to end up in a prison with restrictions against that.

Since the internet has such great potential for information exchange it does seem overly harsh to ban access, the modern day equivalent of cutting off someone from TV, telephone and mail, but so long as content providers are given attention instead of ignored, lawmakers are forced to decide between turning a blind eye to what appears to be crimes taking place and doing what little they can to effect change given limited alternatives.

Personally, I'm move in favor of a $100 fine like one would pay from a speeding ticket, and a points system where after a certain total internet access is denied for a short period of time, a few months.

RE: Yeah and in other news,
By SiliconDoc on 4/25/2009 4:44:43 AM , Rating: 2
You seem to have failed to notice the government is going to "pay for it all" but apparently not for the sales losses of the ISP's, but at least in many ways, the lives they destroy with their FOREVER crap they NEVER put on their own involved in so much more misconduct it is LAUGHABLE that they have a moral right to police others.
This whole deal is the beginning or the lynchpin perhaps of the government becoming a greedy, taxing, burdensome, bloated, tyrannistic, quid pro quo, backroom deal making monster of the internet.
Every right is becoming a priveledge the overlords monitor and regulate -
Here in the USA the tard commies in power now want everyones medical records, their fingerprints, their urine sample results, their dna code, their politcal beliefs, their surfing habits, their expenditures, their homes, their cars, and even their wal mart purchases on a government anti crime anti terrorist "secure" database - where the monsters in power can make all the decisions for everyone with their giant number crunching CRAY systems. Goverment solutions for EVERYTHING with their giant CRAY machines - solve the problems of humanity.... if they just have enough data - oh the efficiencies they claim they could reach...

