October 22, 2009
France threw itself into the same fray as Britain did a while ago over digital piracy. But unlike Britain, France appears as the vanguard of the global battle since it approved a plan to deny Internet access to people who illegally copy music and movies.
The country approved a so-called three-strikes law after rejecting the key portions of an earlier version last spring. Supporters say they hope that France will set a precedent for other countries to follow whereas the UK failed to do so with its leaner ruling of slowing down internet for repeated offenders.
“France is acting as a spearhead,” said David El Sayegh, director general of the Syndicat National de l’Édition Phonographique, the French music industry association. “Piracy is not just a French problem, it is a global problem.”
Yet as with the UK case, critics call the measures draconian and that they will be ineffective in curbing file-sharing, or in converting pirates into customers of legitimate digital media businesses. They argue that disconnecting Internet accounts is unfair because of the increasing importance of the Web as a venue for commerce and political expression.
People like Jérémie Zimmermann, spokesman for La Quadrature du Net (a group that had campaigned against the law) thinks that it’s a sad day in France for internet liberty and that opponents of the law would hopefully seek new ways to subvert it.
The law creates a new agency that will send out warning letters to people accused of copying music, movies or other media content illegally via the Internet. Those who ignore a second warning and copy files illegally a third time could face yearlong suspensions of their Internet access, as well as fines.
The court reviewed the previously failed proposal because of a challenge by the opposition Socialist Party following parliamentary approval in September. The reversal is a big victory for President Nicolas Sarkozy, whose wife, Carla Bruni, a singer and model, had championed the measure.
The main difference between the initial proposal and the version approved Thursday is that a judge, rather than the new agency itself, will be required to sign off on any account suspensions. Without that protection, the court had said, the law would have violated free-speech protections.
Across Europe, policy makers have been wary about embracing “three strikes” solutions. Critics say disconnecting people’s Internet access is inconsistent with many governments’ stated objective of increasing broadband penetration.
The government has estimated that the law could result in sanctions against 50,000 people a year according to some leaked reports.
As I followed the Britain case, I can safely say that the French are once again moving to drastic measures where less hostiles ones could be taken. The downloading mentality has been around for many years now and the governments are putting down official sanctions whereas moral shame was previously the only deterrent against a frowned upon action. I find it repulsive that governments are going to such lengths and suddenly making thousands into “criminals”.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/23/technology/23net.html
Eric Pfanner
