French 'Three Strikes' Piracy Law Faces Major Reversal
A French experiment in cracking down on digital media piracy by threatening to kick copyright cheats offline is about to end — without solving the problem.
In 2009, French lawmakers, aiming to curb unauthorized file-sharing and to slow the erosion of media industry revenue, approved what was billed as the toughest anti-piracy law in the world. Repeat offenders who ignored two warnings to quit downloading movies or music illegally were confronted with the prospect of a suspension of their Internet connection. The system was emulated in several other countries, including the United States, though generally with softer penalties.
But now the government of President François Hollande appears poised to shut down the agency that was created to enforce the law, imposed under Mr. Hollande’s predecessor, Nicolas Sarkozy, and to defang the measure of much of its menace.
