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EU Reaches Agreement On Internet User Rights

Posted on: Friday, 6 November 2009, 06:02 CST

In an attempt to spare Internet users the fear of random crackdowns on illegal downloading, EU lawmakers and governments have officially finished coming up with new rights for them on Thursday.

According to EU Telecoms Commissioner Viviane Reding, they sealed the deal when EU governments accepted EU parliament demands to find a happy medium between a punishment for illegal downloading and a broader set of rights for internet users, reported the Associated Press.

The EU had been working on the reforms for two years, and they now include new privacy controls, consumer rights, and more competition between Internet and phone services. Unfortunately, these important improvements have not received much attention due to the intense discussions about digital user rights.

The proposal also includes other reforms aiming to revamp Europe’s telecoms market, such as setting up a new EU-wide telecoms authority with the responsibility of ensuring fair competition, reinforcing consumers' rights to change mobile or landline telephone operators within one working day, and expanding digital networks to offer faster broadband Internet service for users in rural areas.

One reason the reforms took so long was because of disagreements between EU lawmakers and some governments, particularly France, about how to take on the mounting issue of illegal downloading.

The 27-nation bloc was heavily lobbied by film and record labels. They called for better enforcement of copyright rules to protect profits that are dropping due to illegal file-sharing that allows people to exchange music files at no charge.

Governments also gave in and finally agreed to add certain guarantees to the bill that would guard users from having their Internet services arbitrarily cut off.

"This Internet freedom provision is unprecedented ... and (gives) a strong signal that the EU takes fundamental rights very seriously," Reding told reporters.

"(It will) substantially enhance consumer rights and consumer choice in Europe's telecoms markets."

However, the bill is still waiting for the final approval of the European Parliament and EU governments, which will likely come later this month.

The guarantee makes certain that national authorities can only cut off Internet services if there is substantial proof that a user is illegally downloading copies of movies or music files, in order to make sure that all users are presumed innocent until proven otherwise.

"Full due process rights will have to apply in any administrative case, except in cases of duly justified urgency, like serious crime, terrorism, child pornography," said Spanish lawmaker Alejo Vidal-Quadras. "This is really a step forward."

However, European consumers' organization BEUC criticized the proposal, saying that it is not entirely clear about "due process" rights given to users because it does not specifically give suspected illegal downloaders the right to a judicial hearing.

A lawmaker from Sweden's Pirate Party, Christian Engstrom, said the draft bill is somewhat of a victory for file-sharers, while warning that the EU assembly needs to watch closely for member states that want to cut off Internet users for online pirating.

With increased pressure from the music and film industries, France was strongly urged to take a hard stance against illegal downloading.

French President Nicolas Sarkozy pushed for a "three strikes and you're out" rule, which lawmakers say Britain is also thinking of adopting, that would involve Internet tracking and users caught downloading illegally would be warned twice before having their Internet access being cut off for a year.

Despite Sarkozy’s efforts, a law was passed in September by the French parliament to take the edge off of the plan, saying that a judge would make the decision of whether or not a user’s Internet access should be cut off.

Source: RedOrbit Staff & Wire Reports

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