Plan to curb internet privacy advances in France

Filed under the category of "Global Business" at the NYT. Protecting the interests of the music and film industry. Hmm. I wonder what companies they will hire to analyze the data. Perhaps some Israeli companies? That seems likely to me. Because after all, it's wrong to steal kids. I mean, it's ok for big corporations and big banks and the government to steal from US, but it's totally unacceptable for anyone to steal from them. And if you ALL have to give up your privacy to keep them whole, so be it. Right? Coming soon to a country near you. - Ed.

French lawmakers are poised to approve a law to create the world’s first surveillance system for Internet piracy, one that would force Internet service providers in some cases to disconnect customers accused of making illegal downloads.

The proposal, called the “Création et Internet” and known informally as the “three strikes” directive, has won preliminary votes by the Parliament and is expected to be approved in both houses Thursday. It has support from the governing party of President Nicolas Sarkozy.

The law empowers music and film industry associations to hire companies to analyze the downloads of individual users to detect piracy, and to report violations to a new agency overseeing copyright protection. The agency would be authorized to trace the illegal downloads back to individuals using the downloading computer’s unique identification number, known as its Internet Protocol, or IP, address, which the Internet service providers have on record.

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