France’s HADOPI 2 Passes

[Correction: Before the bill can become law, the National Assembly and Senate must combine their passed bills, according to sources] French legislators today approved, by a vote 285 to 225, a pioneering bill (in French) allowing authorities to cut off internet access and impose fines on those found to have downloaded copyrighted material without authorisation. The measure to create an agency, commonly referred to as HADOPI, was initially rejected by the French National Assembly in April (IPW, IP Burble, 9 April 2009), then adopted by the same body in May (IPW, IP Burble, 12 May 2009), then amended by the Constitutional Council in June on grounds that it did not meet due process requirements and therefore went against the French Constitution (IPW, Enforcement, 11 June 2009). The French Senate approved a new law (HADOPI 2) in July (IPW, IP Burble, 9 July 2009) after providing for courts to intervene, and the National Assembly approved (in French) it today.