International Law

"A swing and a miss for 'three strikes' policy"

Michael Geist looks at the move towards requiring internet service providers to terminate subscribers if they engage in file-sharing activities on three occasions:

The new baseball season is in full swing, yet in recent months the phrase "three strikes and you're out" has taken on an entirely different meaning on the Internet. Prodded by content lobby groups, a handful of governments have moved toward requiring Internet service providers to terminate subscribers if they engage in file-sharing activities on three occasions.

The policy ? occasionally referred to as "graduated response" ? received support last fall from French President Nicolas Sarkozy, who pressured the private sector to negotiate an agreement to implement the three strikes system. The policy soon attracted global attention as the United Kingdom, Japan and Australia all announced that they were contemplating a similar approach.

In recent weeks, however, it would appear that governments are beginning to have sober second thoughts.

Read more here (from the Toronto Star).

Full post as published by Freedom to Differ on April 23, 2008 (boomark / email).