Folks from La Quadrature
du Net (big up to Peter K!) have translated the French HADOPI law [ed: the new
French copyright law, rammed through by Sarko over howls of public protest],
which includes the absurd "three strikes" scheme [ed: if you are
accused of infringement three times, you lose your Internet access -- no proof
needed, no trial, no judge, no jury], bound to fail and utterly dangerous.Curious archeo-legalists
will enjoy its exotic stupidity, so impractical that everybody in France laughs
at it with shame, including the members of Sarkozy's locked-down majority party
who didn't dare to vote against it.
Pay particular attention
to article 5 - subsection 3 where the "riposte graduee" is described,
along with article 11 (obligation of "securing" one's internet access
against it being used for counterfeiting, a complete technical nonsense that is
the cornerstone of the whole thing).
Article 10 is also an
incredible model of the worst you shall not write into the law if you want to
prove that you understand what Internet is about, and how its growth and
innovation worked so far:
"Art. L. 336-2. In the presence of infringement of a right of authorship or a similar right within the contents of a public on line communication service, the Superior Court, decreeing as required on the form of the hearing, may order at the request of the owners of protected works and objects, of the holders of their rights, of societies for the management of rights set forth in article L. 321-1 or professional organizations set forth in article L. 331-1, all measures needed to prevent or halt such damage to a right of authorship or a similar right, against any entity able to help remedy it. "