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Illegal Downloaders to be Blocked By French Government?
rdavison writes "According to a recent article on the Financial Times site, 'internet users in France who download music and films without paying for them could find their web access shut down by a government body.' The proposal originated with FNAC, an entertainment retailer. According to the article, the proposal has a good chance of being accepted. 'In exchange for the clampdown on illegal downloading, the music industry has agreed to make individual downloads of archive French material available on all types of players by dropping digital rights management protection. The French film industry has agreed to release DVDs more quickly after a film's first cinema screening, reducing the delay from 7½ months to 6 months. However, consumer groups and even some of Mr Sarkozy's own members of parliament on Thursday attacked the proposal for a new internet policeman as a threat to civil liberties.'"
When I lived in Spain, the local FNAC was a great place to browse, but a lousy place to buy. Their CDs are ridiculously expensively priced compared to other options. I'll pick a general classical CD that, as far as I know, is still always full-price, the DG disc with Anne-Sophie Mutter as the soloist on the Berg violin concerto. FNAC has it for a steep 23 euro. Meanwhile, Amazon has it for US$16. Even though I've settled in Europe for good, I've grown accustomed to ordering from Amazon, having everything shipped to a relative in the US, and getting my stuff every few months when someone flies over. But if I didn't have that option, like most European music lovers, you better believe that I'd be downloading nonstop. Retailers like FLAC should realize that outright gouging of your customers doesn't spur business.
That's a mistake in TFS. TFA clearly is talking about internet access, not limited to http/port80.
Listen: I live in Paris and I have something like 10 wifi networks right in my building.
It would take me a trivial amount of time to crack the WEP keys of this network.
If I ever wanted to go the illegal download way, that's what I would do: use my neighbours connection. Do you really think the SACEM (French RIAA) will truly investigate who did what on which network? I don't think so. My neighbours would be left with the legal fees, prosecutions, etc, while I would just move on to the next hapless victim^W^W wifi network.
I have expanded at length on this subject on my French blog. Including some language that I will not reproduce here.
In a city where even McDonald's offer free wifi for the price of a cheeseburger (not to mention the schweet municipal wifi project rumored to be in the works), this typically represents what De Gaulle said about the French right-wing politicians: the most stupid in the world.
The right to offend is far more important than the right not to be offended. (Rowan Atkinson)
This article is FUD.
While I don't doubt they are looking at all sorts of ways of controlling P2P traffic, this law is insanely unworkable. For a whole list of reasons, ranging from cracked WiFi, to identifying the what's illegally shared and what isn't. For the 100 millionth time, not all P2P traffic is illegal, not all movies and music are protected by copyrights.
If they do this it will open up and unworkable legal mess, tying up courts time for years sorting out what's legally downloadable and what isn't. Nope, FUD, sorry.