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France lower house postpones vote on amended Internet piracy bill

By Bernard Hibbitts (editor) and University of Pittsburgh School of Law students.

[JURIST] The French National Assembly voted Tuesday to delay a vote on a new version of a controversial Internet piracy law, past its original July 24 date. The French Senate approved the law earlier this month after portions of its original version were rejected in June by France's Constitutional Council. The original law subjected violators of copyright laws to suspension of Internet access at the discretion of a newly-created administrative authority bestowed with judicial power. The new law would leave discretion to suspend services to a judge, since the Constitutional Council ruled that the power to restrict the fundamental right of accessing the Internet should not be entrusted to an administrative authority. The determination to suspend access would be made on an infringer's third violation, after previously receiving two warnings. An Assembly vote on the measure is now likely in September. The bill, introduced by Cultural Minister Christine Albanel and supported by President Nicholas Sarkozy, is aimed at reducing illegal downloads of protected works by proposing an escalating series of responses for users that are caught. The original version of the law was challenged by the Socialist party on the grounds that it failed to find a balance between the rights of Internet users and those of copyright holders. In May, the original bill was approved by the National Assembly after initially defeating it in April. The International Federation of the Phonographic Industry, representing the worldwide recording industry, has welcomed the legislation, although it has been opposed by French consumer interest group UFC-Que Choisir as well as cable and Internet providers.

Full post as published by JURIST - The Paper Chase on July 21, 2009 (boomark / email).