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 Christine Albanel, the French Culture Minister (picture), has announced she will present her controversial “graduated response” bill to the French cabinet on 11th June. The bill (often referred to as the “three strikes and you’re out” bill in countries where baseball rules) would require Internet Service Providers to disconnect subscribers involved in multiple instances of illegal file-sharing. The Minister intends for the bill to be discussed and adopted by Parliament before summer recess.
The Culture Minister, who is currently at the Cannes Film Festival, announced on Tuesday that she would present the “graduated response” bill to the cabinet on 11th June.[1] The day before, Francois Fillion, the French Prime Minister, had listed the “graduated response” bill amongst a series of important “structural reforms” he wanted adopted in the second semester of 2008.[2] The declaration of the Prime Minister did not specify whether the bill would be introduced in Parliament before summer recess, in September or even later in the year.
The controversial nature of the bill lead to speculations that its introduction in Parliament would be postponed until after the summer holidays and possibly as far back as December. Indeed, the proposal has been heavily criticized at home and abroad. Internationally, the EFF, an internet advocacy group, has been at the forefront of the opposition against the French bill.[3] And somehow surprisingly, on 10th April the European Parliament adopted a resolution condemning the kind of disconnections envisaged by France as disproportionate and contrary to civil liberties and human rights.[4] But as we reported, in spite of its clear and strong wording, the non-binding nature of such resolution made it no deterrent for Christine Albanel who vowed to press on with her proposal.[5]
Stronger resistance at home looked to pose a greater threat to the project. Many French commentators have questioned the rationale for such a reform.[6] More importantly perhaps, internet giants such as Google, Microsoft, MySpace and Yahoo sent, through their trade association (the ASIC),[7] a letter to the Government voicing their opposition to the proposed bill.[8] The unpopularity of the project amongst the French population is also a source of concern for the executive. The blog ‘Electron Libre’ reported that officials at the Presidency expressed disquiet at the prospect of introducing legislation that could only harm President’s Sarkozy poll numbers which are already at an all time low.[9] News that the bill would not be presented to the cabinet on 28th May, as initially scheduled, seemed to validate those speculations.
Yet, the latest statement by Christine Albanel signals the French Government’s resolve to press ahead with the bill even if it means a parliamentary showdown that could last for the better part of the summer, especially if, as is highly likely, the opposition decides to challenge the constitutionality of the text eventually adopted. Notes[1] Julie de Meslon, Le projet de loi antipiratage présenté le 11 juin. 01net., 20/05/2008; Estelle Dumout, Risposte graduée : le projet de loi Hadopi au Conseil des ministres le 11 juin. ZDNet France, 20/05/2008; Alexandre Laurent, Loi Hadopi : devant le conseil des ministres mi-juin. Neteco.com, 21/05/2008.
[2] Le deuxième semestre 2008 sera celui des "réformes de structure". Communiqué officiel du Premier Ministre François Fillon, 19/05/2008; Le Premier ministre annonce le calendrier des réformes entre juillet et décembre. Dépêches JurisClasseur – Actualités, 20/05/2008.
[3] Danny O'Brien, The struggles of France's three strikes law. EFF.org, 09/05/2008; Interestingly the EFF and Canadian law Professor Michael Geist note how the French Government wrongly asserted that “Canada was considering "three strikes" see: Michael GEIST, France Says Canada Considering "Three Strikes and You're Out" ISP Policy. MichaelGeist.ca, 09/05/2008.
[4] European Parliament resolution of 10 April 2008 on cultural industries in Europe (2007/2153(INI)) Text Adopted P6_TA(2008)0123 PRESS RELEASE from the European Parliament: MEPs call for sharper focus on jobs and growth potential of cultural industries, April 10, 2008.
[5] Nicolas JONDET, French government to introduce “graduated response” bill despite. French-law.net, 09/05/2008.
[6] See notably : Pierre de Gasquet, Faut-il enterrer le « projet Olivennes » contre le piratage ? Les Echos, 19/05/2008; Riposte Graduée : la loi Olivennes reportée à début juin. Numerama.com, 19/05/2008.
[7] ASIC; Nicolas JONDET, ASIC : the trade association for web 2.0 companies in France (Association des services internet communautaires). French-law.net, 21/05/2008.
[8] Marc Rees, Exclu : les acteurs du web français torpillent la riposte graduée. PC Inpact.com, 06/05/2008; La riposte graduée lapidée par les professionnels du web français. Numerama.com, 6/05/2008; Olivier Dumons, Téléchargement : les géants de l'Internet en croisade contre le projet de loi Olivennes. Le Monde, 07/05/2008; Vincent Ramarques, Le Web français n'aime pas la riposte graduée. Neteco.com, 07/05/2008.
[9] Emmanuel Torregano, La loi Olivennes bute sur l'Elysée. ElectronLibre, 07/05/2008; Philippe Astor et Christophe Guillemin, Riposte graduée : le projet de loi Hadopi au point mort ? ZDNet France, 7/05/2008; La riposte graduée otage de l'impopularité de Nicolas Sarkozy ? Numerama.com, 07/05/2008. IllustrationLa ministre de la Culture, Christine Albanel, à Cannes (c) Sipa taken from "Intermittents : le régime évalué avant la fin de l'année" Challenges.fr, 10/07/2007.
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