French Assembly Approves 'Three-Strikes' P2P Bill

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on September 23, 2009 - 9:14am.

Paris - The French National Assembly has approved the resurrected "three-strikes" bill that would disconnect repeat file-swappers in the country, leaving the Constitutional Council's approval the final obstacle before the bill becomes law, Billboard reported.

The same Council rejected an earlier version of the bill that passed, saying that the Hadopi agency being set up must include the courts when a customer's Internet connection is suspended.

Under the new legislation, file-swappers would receive two warnings from Hadopi, after which time they would be referred to a judge who could then impose fines, and sever the file-swapper's Internet connection for up to a year.

Record labels and other copyright holders may also file civil charges against file-swappers, with penalties of up to $443,650 in fines and three years in prison.

Related Links:
http://snipurl.com/s2ojr (Billboard)