French anti-piracy law rejected by parliament

French parliament has rejected Sarkozy’s controversial anti-piracy law. The three strikes bill was voted 21 to 15 after it was approved by the Senate earlier in the day.

The members of parliament mainly objected to a certain passage in the legal text. This stated that closed file sharers must continue to pay for their internet subscription. The passage was added to the “three strikes” bill at the last minute. This upset a number of MPs, including two members of Sarkozy’s right-wing majority who joined the opposition. The turnout of members of Sarkozy’s ruling UMP party also failed, possibly because the vote was seen as a formality. In the end, the bill was passed by 21 to 15 votes rejected.

According to Roger Karoutchi, the minister in charge of relations with parliament, opponents of the controversial bill are only gaining time. “The law will only be delayed by a few weeks,” thus Karoutchi. The French government will resubmit the bill later this month, but it is expected that the offending last-minute amendment will be removed from the legal text.

Sarkozy forged the bill in collaboration with the music industry. The proposal means that internet users who illegally share files via p2p networks will be disconnected from the internet after two warnings. This internet ban lasts a maximum of one year. Opponents of the law, including consumer groups, say that innocent internet users will also be affected and that the amount of the punishment does not correspond to the offence. The European Commission is still in doubt about introducing the three strikes model across the EU, but the European Parliament spoke out in April 2008 against cutting file sharers.