The European Parliament has given the green light for member states to cut persistent file-sharers off from the net.
It has dropped an amendment to its Telcoms Package which would have made it hard for countries to cut off pirates without court authority. […]
The French government has just approved plans which could see pirates removed from the net for up to a year. […]
Amendment 138 read: « Any such measures liable to restrict those fundamental rights or freedoms may only be taken in exceptional circumstances…and shall be subject to adequate procedural safeguards in conformity with the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights.. including effective judicial protection and due process. » Dropping it effectively means that individual countries would be able to ask internet service providers to remove users deemed to be persistent pirates without needing a prior court order. […]
Persistent problem […] New methods […]
[…] non-network piracy methods, including using instant messaging, e-mail, music blogs, bluetooth and iPod ripping, are on the rise.
It is likely that legislation will be too slow to catch pirates, thinks Mr Mulligan. « Technology just moves quicker. Already we are seeing around 20 different alternatives to peer-to-peer piracy, » he said. […]
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/8322308.stm