French internet piracy bill voted through

Politicians in France have voted through legislation designed to tackle internet piracy.

New laws that would cut off internet access to people who download copyrighted content illegally have been passed in France.

The country's Senate has given final approval to the so-called three strikes legislation by an overwhelming majority of 189 to 14.

Under the new law, a state agency will be set up to police the internet and send warning letters to web users suspected of illegally downloading films and music.

Consumers who ignore two of these warnings will have their internet connections severed for up to a year after they are caught the third time.

The bill, which has been championed by French president Nicolas Sarkozy, was originally rejected in the country's lower house.

Concerns had been raised over privacy and some critics had warned that consumers could be punished unnecessarily if their computers were hijacked.

However, an amended version of the legislation returned to the French parliament last month and has now been approved.

The measure has already won strong support from the film and music industries, which claim that they are suffering as a result of illegal downloading.

But the future of the law could be under threat, as the European Parliament recently approved an amendment to a telecoms reform package which states that the rights of web users cannot be restricted without a court order.

A final version of the legislation is still to be finalised, but it could overrule the French law if it is goes through.

In the UK, several creative organisations and trade unions are calling for the introduction of similar laws to tackle the intellectual property issue.