France vs Pirates: Bill passed to ban pirates from the internet
The French Senate recently voted 297 to 15 in support for a controversial anti-piracy initiative which will restrict Internet access to suspected pirates. French internet users may find their home IPs either suspended or banned outright on grounds of suspicious behavior.
They be closin’ in, matey!
Bad news for any French person suspected of illegally downloading content off the Internet. The French Senate voted 297 to 15 in support for a controversial anti-piracy initiative. It’s still not a law yet, mind you, as the bill still has to go through the French National Assembly. If it becomes law, and it looks rather likely at this point, it will work like this:
As reported by Edge online on the bill’s contents, if that user is found to have been illegally downloading copyrighted material, they would have one strike counted against them. Three strikes and you’re out. More specifically, your entire household will be out. No more access to the Internet.
A governmental body called The High Authority for the Diffusion of Works and Protection of Internet Rights would be in charge of this whole operation and will have the authority to suspend or ban the French Public on grounds of “suspicious behavior.”
The bill is not exactly a new one. It’s been recycled in and out of the French Parliament several times now and was previously rejected by the EU citing an infringement of civil liberties. That this follows in the wake of the recent American PRO-IP anti-piracy law is probably not a coincidence, if I were to hazard an opinion.
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