The French Government will penalize Internet users who do not control the access of third parties to their computers and, in this way, allow downloads illegal activities.
The decree that will punish «negligence» is due to be ready by June, when French authorities want to start applying the Hadopi Law, El Mundo said.
The entry into force of the legislation that provides for the suspension of the Internet connection after three notices regarding the download of content protected by copyright, is pending some developments, including the one related to the principle of accountability.
With the «negligence» decree, the Sarkozy Government wants to avoid arguments that would prevent law enforcement, more precisely the possibility of the holder of an access account from which they had been made downloads deny their authorship.
The first drafting of the law underwent some repairs by the Council of State, which considered that the concept of negligence provided for presupposed an inversion of the test, penalizing the Internet user, and a rupture of the presumption of innocence. It will now be necessary to wait for the new decree to analyze its constitutionality.
The French authorities, meanwhile, are already working to set in motion the application of the new law. According to the Spanish newspaper, the recruitment of agents who will make it effective – between 50 and 70 people – has already started. The connection between the computer systems of rights management entities and Internet access providers should be ready in June.
