The EU is reportedly on the cusp of undermining Internet users’ fundamental freedoms for good as the European Council is putting pressure on MEPs to agree to a watered-down version of the telecoms package tomorrow (4 November), making it possible to cut off the Web connections of suspected illegal downloaders without a fair trial.
According to sources, a conciliation committee, the third and final phase of EU law-making, will run late into tomorrow night (4 November), sparking fears among MEPs that they will be forced to agree to the Council’s version of the package, eliminating Internet users’ right to a fair trial. […]
The new wording shows that the Parliament is now willing to agree with the Council, argues Jérémie Zimmermann, from La Quadrature du Net, an Internet advocacy NGO.
The new text, which reads « any measures may only be adopted as a result of a prior, fair and impartial procedure, » was tabled by re-elected S&D MEP Catherine Trautmann, who before the June elections had fought hard to keep references to a judicial authority.
‘New text not Hadopi-proof’ […]
http://www.euractiv.com/en/infosociety/telecoms-package-uncontested/article-187001