Will France toe the corporate line?
p2pnet news view Freedom | P2P | Politics:- Is France set to pass draconian new laws against P2P file sharing?
No.
Because the bill little more than a component of a warped multinational sales and marketing campaign conceived and developed by the controlling music labels, Vivendi Universal, EMI, Warner Music and Sony Music’s RIAA, and major Hollywood studios, Time Warner, Viacom, Fox, Sony, NBC Universal and Disney, and implemented in France on the entertainment industry’s behalf by president Nicolas Sarkozy.
Under it, governments and ISPs become corporate copyright enforcers, funded by local taxpayers, giving the cartels virtual control of how ‘product’ is distributed online, and by whom
Parliamentarians yesterday voted to, “give the government powers to cut off offenders’ internet access,” says the Financial Times. “The controversial draft law would create an agency to police illegal downloading of copyright material.”
Alleged “illegal” P2P file sharers would get three warnings before having their net accounts closed for up to a year.
“The bill, drawn up by Denis Olivennes, the chairman of Fnac, one of France’s leading DVD and CD retailers, is supported by Hollywood studios, music labels and some artists,” says the FT.
It’ll be voted on by the Senate today, “but is widely expected to be approved,” says the story.
In forcing the bill through, Sarkozy, a passionate admirer of all things American, is flying in the faces not only of the people who elected him, but also the European Parliament which last week voted to bar EU governments from terminating users’ online access without a specific court order, adopting an amendment which stated »»»
Internet access is a fundamental right such as the freedom of expression and the freedom to access information.
And by an amazing coincidence, yesterday, the entertainment cartels simultaneously launched an attack across the channel.
The UK government is wavering in its determination to institute a similar three strikes policy, having already said No to the cartel-inspired ‘three strikes’ law, p2pnet reported, continuing »»»
But the studios and record labels don’t pay their lobbyists millions of dollars for nothing and now an alliance of UK creative industries wants the UK government, to force internet service providers (ISPs) to disconnect users who ignore repeated warnings about sharing illegal content, says the BBC.
The creative industries include Vivendi Universal, EMI, Warner Music and Sony Music`s BPI ( British Phonographic Industry) and Hollywood`s FACT (Federation Against Copyright Theft) who`ve come up urgent recommendations they want included in a set of government rules promulgated by the cartels and called the Digital Britain manifesto.
However, the Internet Services Providers` Association (Ispa) – a trade body that represents ISP`s – said that users could challenge disconnections through the courts and, at present, the technology available for monitoring and detecting illegal sharers was not of a standard where they would be admissible as evidence in court, says the story, going on:
Instead, Ispa said that rights holders needed to rewrite their licensing agreements, to take account of `new models of online content distribution`.
Stay tuned.
Jon Newton – p2pnet
May, 2009
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May 13th, 2009 at 10:30 am
President Sarkozy is nothing more than a puppet in the Big4 games, and by passing this 3 strikes law is guaranteeing himself a fast, frog march out the door on the end of his constituents boots. The Big4 are nothing more than bullies trying to control what they can’t. Something like a fool that beats his dog to make him mean and then gets turned on by that self same dog because he knows no control. Besides if the EU Parliament has anything to say about it, France will be sitting on the outside and being nailed with fines and sanctions as will any other European Union country that allows such a travesty of law to pass. The corporate interests should be trying to figure out how to use the new P2P and torrent programs to their benefit instead of trying to shut them down. But, then, that’s always been the answer to something new that “threatens” their bottom line.
May 13th, 2009 at 10:54 am
It’s because of Carla Bruni.
May 13th, 2009 at 12:32 pm
“The corporate interests should be trying to figure out how to use the new P2P and torrent programs to their benefit instead of trying to shut them down.”
No they should not. They should die instead and thery will.
We don’t need parasites or terrorists in our societies.
May 13th, 2009 at 1:04 pm
“Sarkozy, a passionate admirer of all things American”
The problem is that in the US we don’t have (with few exeptions of course like anywhere else) any of what Sarkozy put in place in France such as a crapy incompetent criminal and corrupted police force who look more like a pack of gansters than anything else. Also the illegal aliens are treated way better in the state.
The French justice is also a lot more injuste than ours where people can be keep in jail for a long period of time even without proof of any wrong doing. (see Colonna and Coupat)
The French definitively need a new revolution.
May 13th, 2009 at 3:39 pm
“The problem is that in the US we donât have (with few exeptions of course like anywhere else) any of what Sarkozy put in place in France such as a crapy incompetent criminal and corrupted police force who look more like a pack of gansters than anything else”
O RLY???