French ‘Loi Hadopi’ anti-filesharing law passed

[Moejoe]

Despite public protests the French Parliament has passed a controversial new law that will see alleged copyright infringers disconnected from the Internet. In addition, France’s Minister of Culture Christine Albanel has stated that under the new law, ISPs may be ordered to block The Pirate Bay.

http://torrentfreak.com/france-to-bl...harers-090403/

http://www.pcinpact.com/actu/news/50...te-graduee.htm



UPDATE: on 9th April 2009 this Law was rejected

[zelda_pinwheel]

it's a sad day for france. regardless of how anyone feels about filesharing, i can't believe how little regard the current government seems to have for such notions as individual privacy, innocence until proven guilty, and the danger of private companies taking on the role of the police.

all we can hope is that this law will be quickly repealed, but with sarko in office it's hardly surprising it got passed...

[Wetdogeared]

Very disappointing news.

Potentially this could mean that access to BitTorrent sites is disallowed in France, as well as access to sites like YouTube or perhaps even Google.

Or even worse.

WDE.

[Greg Anos]

<Shakes his head>

Road Trip! Ryanair to another EU country and load up.

<or>

e-mail somebody in another EU country and sent a micro sd chip for load up and mail back. Grab as much as can be loaded in a chip.

Zelda, are you sure your politicians aren't trained by the American Congress?

[Moejoe]

They won't be satisfied until they can DRM our eyeballs and we pay royalties on whistling. I can't tell you how mad I am at this moment in time.

[Wetdogeared]

Originally Posted by Moejoe

They won't be satisfied until they can DRM our eyeballs and we pay royalties on whistling. I can't tell you how mad I am at this moment in time.

I think by your post, avatar and what you are listening to right now, I have a fairly good idea how mad you are.

WDE.

[Moejoe]

Originally Posted by Wetdogeared

I think by your post, avatar and what you are listening to right now, I have a fairly good idea how mad you are.

WDE.

How could you tell

[zelda_pinwheel]

another article in french on the site of the newspaper Libération :
http://www.ecrans.fr/Hadopi-adoptee,6848.html

interesting to note that the French government voted this law against the advice of the European parliament, who rejected this sort of measure. also interesting to note the french ISPs are also against it.

the opposition has promised to appeal the law but nonetheless this is a bleak situation for our civil rights, which sarko seems determined to erode as much as possible while he can...

[Moejoe]

Originally Posted by zelda_pinwheel

another article in french on the site of the newspaper Libération :
http://www.ecrans.fr/Hadopi-adoptee,6848.html

interesting to note that the French government voted this law against the advice of the European parliament, who rejected this sort of measure. also interesting to note the french ISPs are also against it.

the opposition has promised to appeal the law but nonetheless this is a bleak situation for our civil rights, which sarko seems determined to erode as much as possible while he can...

You're right, the European Parliament voted against this measure only last week. Such a crying shame that it was passed, and so sneakily too. I don't know much about Sarkozy, but from what I've heard I don't like the man very much.

EDIT: To all the French readers on Mobileread, our brothers and sisters across the channel. Fight back! Don't let one of the freest and greatest nations on the Earth be sullied by Sarkozy and his thugs. We're here for you, in Britain, in Sweden and Germany, Spain and all over Europe, in the rest of the world. United we stand, divided we fall. Liberte, Fraternite, Egalite.

[zelda_pinwheel]

Originally Posted by Moejoe

You're right, the European Parliament voted against this measure only last week. Such a crying shame that it was passed, and so sneakily too. I don't know much about Sarkozy, but from what I've heard I don't like the man very much.

you shouldn't. he's dangerous (further proof, in the form of Hadopi, as if any were needed). unless you're one of the very few very rich : then he's your best friend. (ironically, after the election, no-one would admit to having voted for him. but clearly somebody must have...)

EDIT: Too all the French readers on Mobileread, our brothers and sisters across the channel. Fight back! Don't let one of the freest and greatest nations on the Earth be sullied by Sarkozy and his thugs. We're here for you, in Britain, in Sweden and Germany, Spain and all over Europe, in the rest of the world. United we stand, divided we fall. Liberte, Fraternite, Egalite.

thanks for the solidarity ! i admit i'm not feeling very happy about the country i'm living in since our last election.

[HarryT]

Well, to go against the prevailing opinion, personally I think that this is excellent news. So called file "sharers" need to be given a strong signal that their crimes are not "acceptable" and this is a very good way to do it.

Vive la France! Let us hope that other EU countries soon join the French in their enlightened law making.

[Moejoe]

Originally Posted by zelda_pinwheel

you shouldn't. he's dangerous (further proof, in the form of Hadopi, as if any were needed). unless you're one of the very few very rich : then he's your best friend. (ironically, after the election, no-one would admit to having voted for him. but clearly somebody must have...)


thanks for the solidarity ! i admit i'm not feeling very happy about the country i'm living in since our last election.

Don't worry, we're a movement now, we're a people without geographic borders and nationalities. One nation under digital with liberty and justice for all. The battle lines have been drawn, the first shots fired, but this is a revolution they can't stop. A war they can't win. They monitor traffic, we'll use VPN and go fully encrypted. They make their laws, we'll break them. Big Brother wants to snoop and kill our privacy, well Little Brother is watching right back.

[zelda_pinwheel]

Originally Posted by HarryT

Well, to go against the prevailing opinion, personally I think that this is excellent news. So called file "sharers" need to be given a strong signal that their crimes are not "acceptable" and this is a very good way to do it.

Vive la France! Let us hope that other EU countries soon join the French in their enlightened law making.

well harry, i'm not surprised by your reaction, but please take into account how profoundly flawed this law is. it is unreliable, being based on IP addresses alone ; will lead to many false accusations and errors ; will be very costly to implement (implementation and management by the state) at a time when supposedly money is in short supply ; will not generate ANY revenue to compensate content creators ; goes AGAINST the European Parliament ; is easily gotten around by anyone who really wants to and therefore effective only against people with little technical knowledge, who are by that very fact unlikely to be large-scale copiers ; it's obsolete ; and according to the Socialist Deputy Patrick Bloche, it is "absurd".

I can't believe even you would be in favor of any legislation which so clearly erodes such basic civil rights as the right to privacy, the right to a fair trial and an unbiased judgement by a competent judicial authority, and the right to be considered innocent until proven guilty.

as for "vive la france", this law is in NO WAY representative of the MAJORITY of french people. and as for enlightened, this law is so backwards it's ludicrous. let's hope on the contrary that the few authoritarian technologically ignorant idiots who voted this will soon be knocked down by the overwhelmingly more enlightened opposition on a national as well as a european level.

[HarryT]

Please define what you mean by "a right to privacy". If you mean "the right to break the law with impunity" then I'm afraid that I really don't think that you (or I, or anyone else) has such a "right".

My understanding of this law (and please do correct me if I am wrong) is that a person suspected of illegal activities will be sent a letter warning them that they are under suspicion, and pointing out that it is their responsibility to "secure" their internet connection. A second occurence within 6 months will result in a second letter. Finally, a third occurence within a year will result in the potential of internet access being suspended for a period of between a month and a year.

Have I stated the terms of it correctly?

[zelda_pinwheel]

Originally Posted by HarryT

Please define what you mean by "a right to privacy". If you mean "the right to break the law with impunity" then I'm afraid that I really don't think that you (or I, or anyone else) has such a "right".

the right not to have private corporations with no authority or competence for this sort of activity spying on my internet connection, to begin with. the way you talk i suppose you'd be in favor of random wiretapping as well.

My understanding of this law (and please do correct me if I am wrong) is that a person suspected of illegal activities will be sent a letter warning them that they are under suspicion, and pointing out that it is their responsibility to "secure" their internet connection. A second occurence within 6 months will result in a second letter. Finally, a third occurence within a year will result in the potential of internet access being suspended for a period of between a month and a year.

Have I stated the terms of it correctly?

the key word in what you say is "suspected". suspected by whom ? on what basis ? there is no room in this law for due process or any sort of defense of the "suspected" person ; since this law is based on IP addresses the potential for errors is breathtaking. i'm sorry, it doesn't matter your feelings about copyright infringement, this law is indefendable. as the overwhelming majority agrees including the European Parliament and the french ISPs, tellingly.