French politicians debate internet piracy laws - Hadopi

Description:

The French Senate were this week debating the new 'creation and internet' law, aimed at curbing illegal downloads of things like films and music.  The bill proposes a number of measures:

1. To reduce the amount of time between a film showing at the cinema and it becoming available on DVD.  This currently sits at 6 to 18 months, but the government wants this reduced to 4 to 6 months.

2. More controversially, the bill will introduce a 'graduated response' when an internet user is caught illegally downloading.  A warning email would be followed by a registered letter, and then internet access would be cut-off for between three months and a year (with the possibility of sanctions being reduced if the culprit promises no repeat activity).

3. The bill will make it an offence to allow somebody to illegally download material via your internet connection.  The owner of the connection would be culpable if say somebody was to gain unauthorised access to their connection, and make illegal downloads.

4. Creation of a new administrative body with judicial powers (Hadopi) which would be charged with implementing sanctions.

With record sales in steep and consistent decline, record companies are a driving force behind the new law, and they are joined by a group of more than fifty French performers who have concerns over the internet, culture and creation.  Recent surveys have shown high volumes of internet users have previously illegally downloaded content.

The bill is opposed by many European MPs as well as some French MPs from both the Socialist Party and the UMP.  The French commission for civil liberties, justice and interior affairs believes that 'every individual should have the right to access a computer and the internet', and that 'access must not be refused as a punishment in case of an offence.'

Service providers are in favour of a fine, but see difficulties with cutting off internet access, with many services provided as a package of phone, internet and TV.  Civil liberties groups oppose the law, and a strong movement amongst internet users have mobilised in fighting the law which they see as introducing disproportionate punishment.  The group Quadrature du Net are calling for a 'blackout' of the internet in protest.

Websites such as the Pirate Bay are at the centre of the argument, as they make copyrighted material available to download via 'torrents', where users are able to upload and share things such as music and videos.  The popular website has millions of users worldwide, and is currently being sued by record companies through the Swedish courts.  Many un-signed artists actually use websites like The Pirate Bay to 'give-away' downloads of their music, in order to promote themselves, but it is unclear how the new law would differentiate between illegal and legal downloads of this nature. 

Despite the opposition, there is a feeling that this bill is likely to make it through parliament and become law.

Like this story? Why not use our RSS feed and receive updates as soon as they are posted? Or join us as a member and receive a monthly newsletter.