French Senate Approves New 'Three-Strikes' P2P Bill

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on July 9, 2009 - 8:52am.

Paris - After France's highest legal authority stripped the teeth out of a law that would have severed the Internet connections of repeat file-swappers, the French Senate has passed a new, modified "three-strikes" bill, TorrentFreak reports. The Constitutional Council said that citizens deserved a court hearing, and that a court order was necessary before an Internet account could be severed -- instead of leaving it up to an independent agency called Hadopi.

The new bill would see cases of suspected file-swappers presented to a judge, who would be empowered to fast-track decisions in minutes.

The judge would have the authority to sever Internet accounts, as well as impose fines of up to $420,000, and two-year prison terms.

The bill passed in the Senate will now head before the National Assembly.

Related Links:
http://snipurl.com/mg6j7 (TorrentFreak)

http://snipurl.com/mgbs0 (DMW previous coverage)