Hadopi 2 adopted very fast by the French Senate
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Deutsch: [Hadopi 2 vom französischen Senat sehr schnell angenommen | http://www.unwatched.org/node/1467]
On 8 July 2009, in a very rapid session, the French Senate adopted the new
three strikes draft law, so called Hadopi 2.
The only difference between the first version of the law and Hadopi 2 is
that the sanctions to be applied to alleged illegal downloaders will be
decided by the court and not by Hadopi authority. However, things are not
improved as the entire process is speeded up by a simplified procedure that
does not leave room for the presumption of innocence. Article 1 of the text
provides that, “until proven otherwise”, the statements made by Hadopi
officers and presented before the judge are considered as evidence. The
alleged offender is the one who is supposed to prove his (her) innocence.
The senators rejected the motion introduced by the opposition to send back
the text to the legal commission as well as all other amendments except one
that allows the alleged infringers to ask for a hearing to HADOPI and to be
assisted.
Hadopi officers will have the authority to find copyright infringements on
the P2P networks and electronic communications which means that they may
open attached items to personal messages. The opposition asked the
Senate to cancel the phrase “electronic communications” because it includes
e-mails and instant messaging, as well which would mean breach of privacy.
But the new Minister of Culture, Frédéric Mitterrand, justified the
reintroduction of the phrase by the decision of the Constitutional Council
saying that, based on the equality principle, the infringers could not be
treated differently in terms of the different uses of the Internet.
The bill has in view two types of sanctions, the first one for infringement,
consisting of a fine up to 300 000 euro and/or three years of prison and the
suspension of the Internet connection for one year. The second one is
applied to users that fail to secure their Internet connection and has been
used for alleged illegal file-sharing, sanctioned with one month of
suspension of the Internet connection and/or a 1500 euro fine.
The National Assembly is to debate the bill from 21 July. UMP Deputy Lionel
Tardy announced on his blog he would propose a series of amendments to make
the text in agreement with the Constitution in order to try to avoid “the
humiliation of another censure from the Constitutional Council which will be
final if the text remains as is.”
On the other hand, for various reasons, the Socialist Party might choose not
to notify the Constitutional Council under the explanation that even if
adopted, Hadopi 2 will never actually be applied. However, this position
will not be popular with Internet users.
Hadopi 2 – version adopted by French Senate (only in French, 8.07.2009)
http://www.senat.fr/leg/tas08-108.html
Hadopi – resumed (only in French, 8.07.2009)
http://www.ecrans.fr/Hadopi-c-est-reparti,7675.html
Hadopi 2: surveillance of the emails in the core of the debate (only in French, 10.07.2009)
http://www.01net.com/editorial/504351/hadopi-2-la-surveillance-des-e-mails-au-coeur-du-debat/
The Senate adopts the law Hadopi 2 in just one afternoon (only in French, 8.07.2009)
http://www.numerama.com/magazine/13409-Le-Senat-adopte-la-loi-Hadopi-2-en-un-apres-midi.html
Hadopi 2: The Socialist Party plays its credibility in front of Internet
users (only in French, 13.07.2009)
http://www.numerama.com/magazine/13434-Hadopi-2-le-Parti-Socialiste-joue-sa-credibilite-aupres-des-internautes.html
HADOPI raises from the dead, still as flawed (13.07.2009)
http://www.laquadrature.net/en/hadopi-raises-from-the-dead-still-as-flawed
EDRI-gram: The French Government acts like a bulldog with its three strikes
law (1.07.2009)
http://www.edri.org/edri-gram/number7.13/hadopi-two