France takes a firm stand against piracy

BBC News reports that France decided to step up its anti-piracy strategy. A draft law has been passed by the French National Assembly, which will make possible for repeated illegal downloaders to be banished from the Net.

According to the passed legislature, the first time offender will get a warning e-mail. If they continue with the downloading, they get a warning letter. If caught for the third time, their Internet connection will be cut off.

The legislation, backed by President Sarkozy, has still to be confirmed by the Constitutional Court (they shot down an earlier version of the law as unconstitutional). The court is of the opinion that the final decision about the cutting off the access must rest in the hands of a judge.

Presently, even the European Parliament debates on whether such a measure constitutes a breach of human rights.

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