Expensive Way To Send
A Million Emails

France’s three-strikes anti-piracy strategy is getting even more flak with culture minister Aurelie Filippetti describing it as “an expensive way to send a million e-mails.”

Although the French rights holders have identified 3 million people suspected of illegal filesharing, Hadopi – the agency that runs the program – has only sent “first strike” warnings to a little more than one-third of them. Less than one in 1,000 of the first-strike letters have resulted in someone going to court.

In an indication that the majority of those receiving a first warning prefer not to receive another (either by stopping pirating altogether or just taking more care) less than 10 percent of the account holders went on to receive a second warning. Only 0.34 percent advanced to the third-strike phase.

That doesn’t mean that 340 people were kicked off the Internet, because apparently the initiative is more like a “four strikes” system.
 
This means that those who get a “third strike” and then don’t get caught again during the next 12 months do not have their files sent to the prosecutor.
 
In total, Hadopi conducted 30 hearings for third-strike offenders and eventually referred just 14 cases to French prosecutors.
 
After each strike, ISP account holders are invited to get in touch with Hadopi for a discussion, which was enough for 6 percent of those receiving their first warning. About 24 percent contacted the agency after their second warning, and 75 percent after their third.
 
Flippetti’s comments came in a French magazine after it was revealed the whole exercise is costing euro 12 million ($15.5 million) per year.