BCA

The French National Assembly has approved some of the toughest anti-internet piracy legislation in the world.

If it becomes law, the so-called Hadopi Bill, named after the new agency it would create, could allow the authorities to freeze the internet connection of illegal downloaders, impose fines of up to $441,000 and even jail repeat offenders for two years.

The new bill, already approved by the Senate, is also known as the ‘Three-Strikes Law’ for its graduated response to web piracy. The first step is to send a suspected illegal downloader a warning email and this is followed up with a letter. If an offender persists in downloading content without the permission of the copyright owner, their internet connection could be cut off for a year.

The bill also requires that wi-fi users block non-authorised users from accessing their connection.

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