Debate Resumes Over French Piracy Bill

PARIS: The debate over a new version of France’s controversial anti-piracy legislation began in the lower house of parliament today, but legislators won’t vote on the bill until September.

France’s Constitutional Council had deemed a previous version of the Creation and Internet bill to be unconstitutional because it enabled a new state agency, HADOPI (the Haute Autorité pour la Diffusion des Oeuvres et la Protection des droits sur Internet), to cut off the web access of anyone who, after two warnings, continued to download illegal content. The revised bill puts the fate of three-time offenders in the hands of a judge.

The new version will be debated by legislators in the National Assembly all of this week, but a vote won’t occur until after lawmakers return from their summer recess in September.