New blow for internet law
Constitutional court removes central pillar of online piracy bill, ruling only judges can order internet disconnection
THE CENTRAL pillar of a law cracking down on internet piracy has been ruled unconstitutional by France’s highest court.
The Conseil constitutionnel has ruled that internet access is a human right and only judges should have the power to cut access – not simply an administrative body.
The law had envisaged setting up the Haute autorité pour la diffusion des œuvres et la protection des droits sur Internet (Hadopi – from which the bill has earned its nickname) to oversee a process of warning letters and eventual disconnection for users accused of illegally downloading material such as films and music.
According to the Conseil constitutionnel the fact that users would have to prove they were not responsible “reversed the burden of proof” which should be ‘innocent until proven guilty’.
The decision is another blow for the controversial law which has met with staunch opposition.
Despite being thrown out once by the National Assembly, it was brought back and voted through in a fast-track procedure to outrace discussions currently taking place in the EU parliament and Commission.
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The Conseil constitutionnel’s ruling is an echo of a law proposed by MEPs and under consideration by the Commission, to make internet connections a human right that can only be removed by a judicial process.
Culture Minister Christine Albanel says she will push ahead with the law however the Hadopi body will be limited to sending out warning messages.
Along with the possibility that the Hadopi will be overwhelmed with work from music and film copyright bodies, the law still has a number of loopholes that will likely be tested in courts in the future.
1. That many internet providers’ deals are wrapped up with telephone and TV supplies and there is no way of separating them.
2. That the current law which threatens internet piracy with a five-year prison term and €30,000 has still yet to be abolished.
3. That it can be impossible to determine the culprit over shared connections.
4. That internet connections can be hijacked and used by others without the user knowing.
