French High Court Strips Teeth Out of Three-Strikes P2P Law

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on June 11, 2009 - 9:06am.

Paris - After a rocky road to passage in the French Parliament, the country's controversial "three-strikes" law, which would have disconnected repeat file-swappers' Internet access, has seen the disconnection portion of the law stripped by the country's high court. The law as passed compels ISPs to send warning letters to suspected file-swappers on behalf of copyright holders; after two warnings, it would have enabled an independent administrative authority (HADOPI) to order ISPs to sever a subscriber's Internet access for up to a year.

The French Constitutional Court ruled on Wednesday that cutting off one's Internet access violates free speech and the principle of presumed innocence, and that such an action could only be undertaken through a court order.

"Freedom of expression and communication is so valuable that its exercise is a prerequisite for democracy and one of the guarantees of respect for other rights and freedoms and attacks on the exercise of this freedom must be necessary, appropriate and proportionate to the aim pursued," the court said in its ruling.

Related Links:
http://snipurl.com/jxebe (Billboard)

http://snipurl.com/jxdws (Ars Technica)

http://snipurl.com/jxff9 (DMW previous coverage)