France set to cut Web access for music, film pirates

Internet users in France who frequently download music or films illegally risk losing Web access under a new antipiracy system.

The story "France set to cut Web access for music, film pirates" published November 23, 2007 at 9:55 AM is no longer available on CNET News.

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[sismoc]

You can't put the genie back in the bottle.

This is a freaking joke.

There is no way this will be able to be enforced.

Technology will just change and stay one-step-ahead.

When will they ever learn?

[KTLA_knew]

True...

...high-tech thieves will ALWAYS be able to find ways to circumvent the law, but that doesn't autmatically lead to just accepting the theft as acceptable, as so many think should be the case.

I can, however, imagine that casual theft will become difficult enough that regular folks will stop doing it. Policies like this will help, IMO.

Don't assume they don't "get" that new ways around it will be found just because the plans that can be put into place today aren't the perfect solution to online theft. Many people that very much do "get it" support these sorts of efforts.

[cocos2000]

agree

Theres no way to stop it this way, especially when some morons without sufficient knowledge come up with such ideas.

[hadaso]

You don't get it - they don't intend to prevent piracy

You don't get it - they don't intend to prevent piracy by those who would make the effort to hide their activity.

What they want is to scare most of the people that would be afraid that their internet access that they also need for communications will be cut off, so they will refrain from looking for music online, legal or illegal, and so will cut down the competition from independent artists that can use the net to publish their work without having to work with the "industry".

Piracy doesn't scare them as much as competition from those who realize that the middlemen that were needed in the 20th century are not needed in the 21st century.

[bhushan bhaagii]

Question: Will They Succeed?

I refer to sismoc's comment, "you can't put the genie back in the bottle".

More than 10 years back I was attending a Music Forum meetin in India. The internet had caught everyone's imagination. The web was clearly was a techtonic shift in our lives. But not to the peddlars of plastic.

Internet access in India was an intimidatingly costly affair; we were desparately short of basic connections. The ordinary office staffer could only access it in his office, and that too on some nodes. For the individuals who could afford it, it seemed like an extravagance: the cost could work out to $250-1000 per month.

BUT EVEN IN THOSE DAYS IT WAS CLEAR THAT THE WEB
WILL BE THE MEDIUM TO DELIVER MUSIC.

Out there in the worl, there are several hundred million net users. The entertainment industry could have seen it as a godsend for delivering their products, and cultivating an audience whose
numbers they could never even dream of. BUT NO!
THEY STILL WANT TO PEDDLE THEIR PLASTIC CDS THROUGH RETAIL STORES AT PRICES THAT NO ONE
RESPECTS.

The attempt to get through the French President, what they have failed to achieve in American courts, lobbies and forums, is just another effort to keep the old way of doing business alive.

But this is a more insidious initiative. If it works, it could be extended to all products, newspapers, books, periodicals, games, et al.

The legally sanctioned active snooping by the government, with "an independent authority will be set up and put in charge of deciding when to issue Internet users with "electronic warning messages." The authority will be supervised by a judge", shows a level of collaboration with big biz not seen elsewhere. It could become a model for emulation by other countries.

[Karl-Lessig]

Genies

The point is that the ISPs don't have to know what is being downloaded, just that there is a high level of it and that it appears to be coming from p2p networks. This is essentially the same policy that Cox and Comcast are implementing and is also being done in Canada, all voluntary. The main difference is that throttling is going to be the law in France.

If you study the French reaction to the impact of the Internet on their culture, I don't think anyone would be surprised at these measures. They pretty much equate Google/Apple/Microsoft/Hollywood/McDonalds together, the Big Ugly American.

[Had_to_be_said]

Wait a minute. Isnt this, the same ultra neo-con president...

...that has decided that the French-people have simply got to accept a drastically reduced standard of living (to line the pockets of a wealthy few)... who has just decided that he supports the American-war in Iraq... And, who looks to American Government, and American big-business, practices/methodologies as the -ideal- to be emulated (imposed)...

...leading to widespread riots, protests, strikes, and a general, complete, dissatisfaction amongst the people of France..?

And, now, he supports the exact same "Intellectual-Property" (COPYRIGHT-protectionist CRAP) that our government is, so desperately, trying to shove down our throats (here in America).

Hhhmmm...

[GGGlen]

Yup

He's the very same man that was duly elected by the people of
France to represent their desires.
Duly elected, I might add, because the French were sick and
tired of the failed policies of his predecessor, which were
dangerously close to turning France into a 3rd world nation.
Sooooo... as much as you'd like to spread your thoughts of
hatred and intolerance, just remember that the PEOPLE of France
VOTED him into office, and wacky Left Wing conspiracy theories
as to *why* don't apply.

[iquijas]

Antipiracy or Burocracy

This "new" idea by the France Government is no other thing but another way to empower and grow the burocracy in that country. It is more than obvious that this monitoring and sanctioning effort would require lots of people and the creation of secretaries and government offices n order to implement it. Europe loves burocracy and this is another way to get implement it.

[WJeansonne]

Now that 's cutting the head off the snake!

The U.S. should do the same thing. These pirates have been stealing content for way too long.

[The_Decider]

Another idiot

It is copyright infringement, not theft.

Corporate shills suck

[Draxon]

The RIAA has been stealing from artists for decades

Yea forget privacy, treat every member of your country like a criminal until proven innocent, than still spy on them to help corporate fat cats line their pockets with more money? Meanwhile real artists are starting to see the exposure that can come from a simple youtube video or other copyright "violation" such as the band CSS who has had an incredible sale surge as the end result of someone making a video with their music. This only hurts the RIAA as it takes away their ability to manipulate and control music exposure. Due to the RIAA's greed bands have always made more from tours than cd sales anyways so all they really need is exposure to sell out their concerts.

The laws in France are a sad attempt to save a dieing business model, and companies that have been unwilling to adapt to the digital age.
Worse yet it is tasking one private company to infringe on your privacy, for another company. Scary Stuff.

[dwayne hoobler]

good

this only affects you if you a. live in france and b. steal music. i don't do either and think the law is fair. the RIAA has it backwards- they should take a page from mr.French- stop suing kids and just shut down their access- see how long it takes file sharing to shut down completely. well that is, after they sue the F out of YouTube and all the other totally illegal file sharing- copyright infringing sites.

you're all going to pay for your media or watch a commercial or some combination of both...nothing is free- never was. only idiots and college kids think it should be.

[bhushan bhaagii]

BAD, VERY BAD

"this only affects you if you a. live in france and b. steal music. i don't do either and think the law is fair."

Just look at the smug, self-righteous tone in dwayne hoobler's post.

Around the world, we (including dwayne hoobler, I am sure) have photocopied pages from books, articles, features from magazines, journals, for our reference. We have very seldom given a thought that this is copyright stuff, and owe it to the authors/publishers whose stuff has been copied.

Publishers and media owners know this is happening, and they have accepted it (maybe unwillingly)

The analogy between photocopying and downloading music from the net is not far-fetched. It is relevant. In both instances you have material that is copyright.

It's time the RIAA and others saw the internet in this light and moved to make their products accessible at a cheaper price. The insistence on
purchasing a hard copy that costs several dollars is misplaced.