[Infowarrior] - Europe rejects plan to criminalize file-sharing

[Richard Forno]

Europe rejects plan to criminalize file-sharing

In a close vote, the European Parliament rejected attempts to criminalize
the sharing of files by private individuals and to ban copyright abusers
from the Internet

http://www.infoworld.com/archives/emailPrint.jsp?R=printThis&A=/article/08/0
4/10/Europe-rejects-plan-to-criminalize-file-sharing_1.html

By Paul Meller, IDG News Service

April 10, 2008

The European Parliament rejected attempts to criminalize the sharing of
files by private individuals and threw out the idea of banning copyright
abusers from the Internet, in a plenary vote Thursday.

The vote was close, with 314 MEPs (Members of the European Parliament)
voting in favor of an amendment to scrap what many consider draconian and
disproportionate measures to protect copyright over the internet, and 297
voting against the amendment.

"The vote shows that MEPs want to strike a balance between the interests of
rights holders and those of consumers, and that big measures like cutting
off Internet access shouldn't be used," said Malene Folke Chaucheprat, a
European Parliament spokeswoman, shortly after the vote.

The report isn't legally binding, but it could help thwart efforts by
France, which has already adopted such measures, to push the issue at a
European political level.

France's so-called Oliviennes strategy to combat copyright abuse includes a
"three strikes and you are out" approach: Offenders lose the right to an
Internet account after being caught sharing copyright-protected music over
the Internet for a third time.

France takes over the six-month rotating presidency of the European Union in
the second half of this year and many observers, including the U.K.-based
Open Rights Group, expect it to push for E.U.-wide rules similar to its own.

The report is significant because it "signifies resistance among MEPs to
measures currently being implemented in France to disconnect suspected
illicit filesharers," the Open Rights Group said in a statement.

The record industry was disappointed with the vote. "One badly drafted,
rushed through amendment was adopted which is in contradiction to the rest
of the text," said Frances Moore, executive vice president of the
International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI), in a
statement.

"If the aim of the report is to protect creative content, including in the
online environment, we should be looking at all options available in the
fight against copyright theft. Instead, this amendment suggested discarding
certain options before there is even a proper debate," the IFPI said.

But the Open Rights Group argued that criminalizing copyright abuse by
individuals eager to build their media library and not profit from
copyright-protected material is draconian and inefficient at tackling
illegal file sharing.

"As the European Parliament have recognized today, [the measures] are
disproportionate, they lack consumer safeguards and they won't stop illicit
filesharing," the Open Rights Group said.