French ‘Three Strikes’ Law Rejected…again

access-denied-againThe ‘three strikes’ law passed by the French Parliament a few weeks ago has now been rejected by the French Constitutional Council. Finally, some sense, but for how long.

When the law was first voted on by the French National Assembly, it was rejected, only to be passed when it came time for them to vote on the law a second time around. The law was passed despite the EU disallowing such regulations among their members, only to now be disapproved by the French themselves.

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‘Three Strikes and Out’ French Internet Law Approved

access-denied-approvedThe French have gone and done it. The plan, by mini President Sarkozy, to disconnect users internet connection if they’re found downloading or sharing files illegally was approved by the same assembly that initially rejected it. The law, commonly referred to as the ‘three strikes’ law, will mean that pirates will be given two chances to stop their illegal behaviour before having their internet connection cut off. This is despite the EU deciding that such laws are prohibited among EU members.

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Australians are Racist; according to Yanks and Poms

Sol Trujillo, ex-Telstra boss, this week has come out to say that he found Australia racist and backwards. Yes, this is the same Tesltra CEO who had no problem taking $31 million of our ‘backwards’ money in his four year stint in the position. OK sure, it’s the crappy Aussie dollar that’s worth a piddly $24 million in the mighty US of A.

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Traditional vs New Media… which is faster?

Alarm ClockWhen I began writing this post it was heading down a very different path. To be honest, it was going to be another attack on how traditional media these days just can’t keep up with technology when it comes to breaking news stories. This is where Twitter comes in handy. Following both traditional and new media sources gives you a constant feed of when stories are announced.

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Newspapers up in the AIR…

The New York Times has given up with the whole ink and paper thing… well not entirely, but they have moved to AIR. The Times Reader is available on the Adobe AIR platform, allowing users to read the paper on their computer. This may not be anything new, as we’ve been able to read the news online for quite some time now. The Times Reader does however give you the opportunity to take the paper offline.

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3 strikes and out French internet law

access-deniedA controversial legislation may be passed in France, making it possible for the government to cut off a users internet connection after they’ve been found downloading or sharing illegal files. The legislation will use a ‘three strikes’ rule, which means the user will receive two warnings before their internet connection is blocked for a year. The legislation was previously rejected in a parliamentary vote early this month but looks like it could be the first of its kind to be passed globally in the fight against online piracy.

Obviously the film and music industry are extremely supportive, along with the French President Nicolas Sarkozy (the short guy with the hot wife). Sure the legislation seems fair enough, but it does raise a few questions…

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Music industry update and The Pirate Bay verdict fallout

pirate-bay-falloutQuite a lot has happened in the music industry since The Pirate Bay verdict was announced last week. (No, this blog won’t just be about The Pirate Bay!)

Fallout
The music industry fell victim to verdict fallout with the IFPI site (the source of a lot of the stats I discussed in my previous post) falling victim to a DDoS attack, making the site slow and inaccessible at times.

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The Pirate Bay verdict and the entertainment industry

pirate_bay_jail

As most of you may have already heard, the verdict for The Pirate Bay trial was announced yesterday. GUILTY. The 4 men involved were sentenced to 1 year in prison each and have to split a total fine of just under $5 million AUD. Of course The Pirate Bay legal team will appeal the decision with more questions being answered in a press conference on their website.

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