E.U. to Allow "3-Strikes" Laws in New Telecoms Regulation

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on November 5, 2009 - 12:35pm.

Brussels - The European Union has dropped language from proposed telecoms regulation that would have established Internet access as a "fundamental right," providing new leeway for countries like France and Great Britain that have enacted or are considering "three-strikes" laws that suspend repeat copyright infringers' Internet connections, according to published reports. The issue had been a sticking point holding up the telecoms regulation, and the new version represents a compromise between copyright and consumer interests.

While the previous version had required a court order before a user's Internet access could be suspended, the new language stipulates a "prior fair and impartial procedure," rather than an actual trial on the merits.

"The agreed text does not meet the challenge of clearly preserving a fundamental right of access to the net," French consumer rights group La Quadrature du Net said in a statement.

"This Internet freedom provision is unprecedented across the globe and a strong signal that the E.U. takes fundamental rights very seriously," European Commissioner for telecommunications Viviane Reding said in a statement.

http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/87c914f4-c9ab-11de-a071-00144feabdc0.html

http://snipurl.com/t2xnq (ZDNet)

Published in DMW Daily, November 5, 2009

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Comments

Just who does the government really work for, anyway?

Submitted by anonymous (not verified) on November 5, 2009 - 1:52pm.

Is there any requirement that copyright term and scope be reasonable - say 20 years, and allowing for fair use? No? It's a completely one-sided law that will completely screw the average person? I'm just **shocked**. It's almost enough to make me suspect that corporations are the real government.