Hadopi To Be Struck Out?

France’s “three strikes” strategy against Internet piracy is now in danger of being struck out because the results don’t justify the cost.

Former Vivendi-Universal chief exec Pierre Lescure has authored a report for the French government that suggests Hadopi should be scrapped. The measure was introduced in 2009.

He believes there should be far softer fines for individuals who are caught file-sharing and no more disconnected Internet connections, preferring a shift toward eliminating major counterfeit operations and sites. 

Earlier this year, a report from French collection agency SNEP gave Hadopi credit for a marked drop in P2P file-swapping.
SNEP’s data may be misleading, according to Digital Music News, which points out heavy-handed enforcement may not have been the biggest reason for the drop.

Apparently there has been little increase in traffic on legal sites, while there has been a strong shift towards streaming.
Lescure’s report says there’s mounting evidence that big fines and disconnections are largely ineffective. 

It says “the sanctions applicable today seem disproportionate to the massive nature of the practices” and that “the existence of an administrative authority almost exclusively dedicated to [three-strikes] is also very questionable.”