France has pretty much been the country whose government pressured the world to adopt a “three strikes and your out” law. It seemed that the country would adopt the legislation themselves when the senate passed the three strikes legislation last year. Unfortunately for the proponents of the law, it was defeated by the house earlier this month. Now comes word that the French three strikes law is back in the government.
Note: This is an article I wrote that was published elsewhere first. It has been republished here for archival purposes
According to French website 01Net, the government has to reconcile the fact that it was passed by one level of government and not the other (Google translation). So now, it’s before the government again.
The reason it was defeated was mainly because many of the parliamentarians were on vacation, allowing opposition to defeat the legislation. At issue, aside from the fact that people could be disconnected from the internet, is whether people would be able to use their TV and phone service if they use joint plans. Another issue is if one were to get disconnected, would the minimum time frame be for a month or two months? Also, for a period of a two or three months to a year, can Hadopi basically dictate what websites the user can visit (via blacklisting software run by Hadopi)
Since it seems more of a matter of luck that the three strikes was defeated the first time, there’s probably a good chance that a repeat of what happened last time is unlikely. Still, one can only hope that another small miracle can happen to further delay such legislation.
Update: A ZeroPaid reader says that the National Assembly passed the three strikes proposal through deception.
Drew Wilson on Twitter: @icecube85 and Google+.