According to BBC News, members of the European Parliament voted yesterday in favor of advancing new telecom reform legislation known as the Telecoms Package that includes a series of controverisal amendments that digital rights activists say would pave the way for a ‘three-strikes’ law against online copyright infringers in Europe.
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Opponents, led by a French group called La Quadrature du Net, warn that the legislation designed to harmonize Europe’s telecom laws would instead threaten the openness of the Internet by requiring ISPs to give individuals suspected of downloading unauthorized copyright material two warnings before cutting off their Net access entirely. Another organization, Free Internet Infrastructure (FFII), went a step further, saying that a provision that would give the government the power to determine what type of software can be used online (and what can’t) would lead to a « Soviet Internet » in Europe.
The European Parliament will vote on the legislation in September.
http://techpolicysummit.blogs.com/tech_policy_summit/2008/07/eu-parliaments-telecom-reform-raises-three-strikes-concerns.html