On Wednesday, the assembly of the European Parliament voted 407 to 57 to reject attempts by constituent governments to crack down on consumers who illegally download copyright material like music, television programs and films over the Internet thereby rejecting a compromise reached with various EU governments a few weeks ago.
The Law, if passed, would have allowed France to enforce copyright by cutting off Internet access to end-users caught downloading illegal copies of films and songs.
Telecommunications Commissioner of the EU, Viviane Reding, has stated that the vote was “an important restatement of the fundamental rights of EU citizens.” and that “For many, it is of very high symbolic and political value,” she said, calling on EU governments to assess their next move “very carefully.”
The vote appears to be a populist act with elections scheduled in four weeks.
Whereas I am not sure that I would consider stealing films and songs as a fundamental right, I agree the legislation akin to the US Digital Millennium Act is the correct way to go. I would like to see the US having the balls to put the European Union on their 301 Special Reportblack list next year. I think with Google scanning copyright protected literature and making it available for free over the Internet, perhaps the US should put themselves on the Watch List as well. Still Israel is better suited historically to serve as America’s whipping boy in this regard.
