It was in late 2007 that the French government first signed a pact with ISPs and content owners to combat piracy. Now the Sarkozy administration has proposed a continental expansion of such a system. The idea is based on the president’s conviction that the Internet should not be a “lawless zone.”
As Jan Libbenga of The Register describes the effort, the powers that be in France have put forth a concept to amend the EU’s Telecoms Package to deter illegal downloads in a way similar to the three-strike legislation introduced for the French citizenry itself. Both the national and international laws would have offending parties incur technical repercussions after having transgressed a few times. ISPs would typically have to cut access for offenders for up to a year’s time.
It’s not likely that France’s proposition will be greeted particularly warmly by all union members. Bureaucratic wrangling in the EU is also somewhat notorious for impinging on smooth passage of controversial measures. And the French government has already encountered strong opposition to its France-specific penalty legislation by the French ISP Association AFA. A panoply of anti-monitoring and anti-filtration entities, among which include the Open Rights Group claim France’s proposal “Orwellian.”
(viaMashable)
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