NO CONSENSUS HERE YET…

The European Commission stands accused of reneging on copyright rules as it is reportedly discussing a private deal to allow companies to disconnect users from the Internet for suspected piracy. In the summer of 2009, EU telecoms ministers and the European Parliament were embroiled in a row over the EU's telecoms package and how it should treat illegal downloading. EU ministers were in favour of a more hardline law, like the 'three strikes and you're out' approach, while MEPs fought to water down sanctions for fear that people downloading content for non-commercial purposes would receive the same punishment as criminal gangs committing piracy on a much larger scale. Ireland is the first country to introduce a three strikes approach after Internet service provider Eircom caved into the pressure of a lawsuit filed against it by the music industry. The French version of the law, Hadopi, is in limbo at the country's highest authority, the Conseil d'Etat, which observers say is waiting to see what the European Parliament decides in the coming weeks.