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FRANCE SET TO BAR PIRATES FROM INTERNET ACCESS
Friday, June 20 2008
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Internet users in France accused by the music and film industries of downloading music and movies illegally may be barred from subscribing to Internet service providers for up to one year, under a new law proposed by Culture Minister Christine Albanel. According to a report by the French wire service Agence France Presse, the law would set up a regulator that would receive complaints from the music and film industry and track them down through ISPs. The suspected offenders would be sent two warnings before being stripped of their Internet subscriptions. The proposal received the backing of French President Nicolas Sarkozy, who reportedly told the cabinet meeting, "There is no reason that the Internet should be lawless." The proposed law, if passed by the French parliament, would go into effect on January 1. At that time the music and film industries have agreed to remove all existing copyright protection on French material. While the proposed law was hailed by international entertainment groups, it was derided overwhelmingly by bloggers and online message writers. On the London Times's website, one writer observed that the same boxed set of DVDs that sells for $25 in the U.S. goes for 75 euros in France. "Maybe if the [government] did more to prevent us Europeans being blatantly ripped off we'd download less."
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