French "Three Strikes" Law Blocked by Constitutional Court

The infamous “three strikes” law, which provides that illegal file sharers have their Internet connection cut off after three warnings, has seen a major setback in France. The French Constitutional Court has rejected a proposition that would give a newly created government agency the authority to disconnect Internet users. The court decided that “free access to public communication services on line” was basic human right and could not be denied without the approval of a judge.

The media industries have been putting pressure on governments for several years now to do more about Internet piracy and some countries in Europe have been discussing a “three strikes” law. The most committed seemed to be France, where the law was supported by the president Nicolas Sarkozy and initially approved by the French Parliament but later failed to pass the decisive vote in the National Assembly before finally being adopted by a Short Majority on the 12th of May.

The Constitutional Court's decision however has made it impossible for the new government agency, the HADOPI (Haute Autorité pour la Diffusion des Oeuvres et la Protection des droits sur Internet), to disconnect users thus putting a hold on the whole process. French Culture Minister Christine Albanel stated, however, that the law would still be put into practice but with users being disconnected only by a judge's decision.

The proposed law has been met with opposition from many parties criticizing it as an unfair treatment for only a specific set of Internet crimes and for the fact that offenders would not have the chance to defend themselves in court. The British government is expected give its final report on similar matters soon and has stated that it will also reject the “three strikes” law propositions in favor of other means of combating Internet piracy. The European Parliament has also passed a measure preventing member states from disconnecting illegal file sharers without a court order.