March 11, 2009
Sarkozy move to punish illegal downloaders sparks liberties row
The French government has been accused of "Big Brother" tactics over an anti-piracy bill which aims to punish people who repeatedly illegally download music and films by cutting off their internet access for up to a year. The Guardian reports.
The proposed law, a pet project of the French president Nicolas Sarkozy, will be debated in parliament this week, and should create a new state surveillance agency to monitor internet users online.
With the help of internet service providers and tip-offs from music and film companies, web surfers illegally downloading music, films or video games will be identified. They will first receive an email warning, then a registered letter, and if caught again they will see their web access cut off for up to a year.
But although the senate has passed the bill, a heated row over civil liberties is expected as parliament debates the law this week. Christian Paul, a Socialist MP leading opposition to the law, said it would create a precedent for "massive surveillance" of the internet and society as a whole.
... Socialists argue that the law, which focuses on file-sharing or download sites rather than new technologies of streaming, is inconsistent and already outdated.
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