France: Lawmakers rejected the newly proposed Internet piracy bill called “three strike” penalty that will cut-off the Internet service of illegal file-sharers who have downloaded copyrighted materials more than twice.
The bill was earlier approved by the Upper House but lawmakers from the Lower House vetoed the Internet law with 21 to 15 vote. The result came as a surprising setback for supporters of the piracy bill as two lawmakers who were staunch advocate of “three strike” penalty suddenly vetoed and said that some of the provisions in the bill are not acceptable.
According to earlier report, the two lawmakers did not approve of the provision that requires banned users to still pay their Internet connection.
In an interview, Roger Karoutchi, a member of right-wing party, said the vote “has just delayed the adoption of the bill and it does not mean that this is already blocked from the parliament.” Some lawmakers who support the bill also derided the opposition for blocking the Internet bill.
Legislators who support the Internet piracy bills said that the parliament will discuss again this bill on April 28, adding that this is just a setback but not a total defeat.
Meanwhile, some experts said the event is a huge setback for President Nicolas Sarkozy who is a staunch advocate of the Internet bill.
France has the strictest penalties against illegal file-sharers who face up to three years in prison and are required to pay $398,000 for damages.
In the US, authorities send warning notification to illegal file-sharers who downloaded copyrighted materials. Meanwhile, reports said that only few people have already been banned from Internet access.