France passes three strikes download law
France’s parliament has passed a “three strikes” disconnection law for illegal downloading after previously rejecting it in a surprise vote. However, it’s far from certain the new law will be allowed to stay in force.
The law was originally voted down last month, despite apparently having the backing of a majority of politicians. Just 36 of the 577 members of the National Assembly voted, with many assuming the result was a formality and leaving earlier in the day to begin their Easter vacation. Opponents of the bill had reportedly stayed away from the chamber until the vote to wrong-foot government officials keeping track of the likely voters.
In a fresh vote in the Assembly yesterday, the bill passed by 296 to 233. This afternoon the Senate, the upper house of the French Parliament, also voted to make the bill into law.
The law will create one of the world’s first government agencies dedicated to online copyright enforcement. It will also mean anyone suspected of copyright infringement will receive two written warnings. A third offense will mean automatic disconnection for between two months and a year.
Despite passing into law, the legality of the measures is still under question. Opposition politicians in France say they’ll ask the Constitutional Council (France’s equivalent to the Supreme Court) to review whether such a law is permissible under France’s constitution.
The law also faces problems from the European Union. While the French government was waiting to reintroduce the bill for a new vote, the European Parliament passed a package of telecommunications regulations which included an amendment dealing with internet disconnections.
Contrary to some reports, the amendment does not ban such punishments. However, it does state that such schemes are only allowable where there is a full judicial process. This isn’t the case under the French law, which prevents those people who are disconnected from launching any legal appeal.
The European Parliament package hasn’t taken effect yet as it needs to be re-examined by the council of ministers (that is, the relevant politician from each national government who is responsible for the issue in question, in this case telecommunications). If the council backs the rules, national governments including France would need to incorporate them into their domestic laws.
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