French Assembly Passes Three Strikes Bill

Today, French Parliament approved a bill that will cut Internet connections of repeat file sharers after “three strikes”.  The legislation passed by a vote of 296 to 233 and goes before the French Senate Wednesday, where it is expected to pass. If adopted, warning messages from HADOPI should be sent to file sharing Internet users as early as this fall. The first disconnections will begin in 2010.

The measure enjoys strong support from the film and music industries, which blame file sharing for declining sales. Consumer groups said that policing the Internet not only threatens civil liberties, but will also be difficult to implement.

The bill gives file sharers two warnings, and after the third infraction, cuts their Internet connection for up to a year. France is to become the first European country to target file sharers with the “three strikes” graduated response and all President Nicolas Sarkozy had to do was order all of his UMP party’s deputies to appear and vote in Parliament. The same proposal was rejected by European Parliament, which puts France at odds with the rest of Europe.

File sharing increases music sales, so I don’t see how the music industry stands to gain with stricter laws. It seems that it’s far more important, to the industry, to protect copyrighted works than help their distribution, which is almost counter-intuitive. It makes sense that an artist or creator would benefit from having their work as widely distributed and used as possible.

Ultimately, the French government is responsible for such extreme measures, but the industry surely can take part of the blame. Resorting to invasive laws that disconnect people from the Internet should never be taken in consideration as a solution to file sharing. Impeding access to information shouldn’t be a solution to anything.

Is the legislation too extreme? Could similar laws be adopted in other countries?

Photo via autopano.net
Source: LeMonde