France's three-strikes law overturned

France's three-strikes anti-piracy law has been overturned by the Constitutional Council.

A new law in France aimed at tackling internet piracy has been struck down by the country's Constitutional Council.

The legislation, which was approved last month following a number of parliamentary debates, cracks down on illegal downloading by cutting off internet access for those accused of it.

It saw the creation of a new state agency that would send warning letters to web users suspected of obtaining film and music content over the internet without paying for it.

Consumers who ignore these warnings would have their internet connections severed for up to a year after receiving the third letter.

But now the bill, which was championed by French president Nicolas Sarkozy, has been struck down by the top legal authority in France.

The Constitutional Council was asked by the opposition Socialist Party to rule on the legality of the three-strikes law.

It concluded that only a court judge should have the power to restrict an individual's access to the internet.

This follows a similar ruling on the intellectual property issue by the European Parliament at the beginning of May - that the rights of web users cannot be restricted without the involvement of judicial authorities.

Meanwhile, in the UK, the government has said it favours the use of "technical solutions" to tackle internet piracy.

According to the BBC, culture secretary Andy Burnham indicated at Music Week's Making Online Music Pay conference that ministers are against the implementation of a three strikes law in Britain.

It is thought that connection speed restrictions for illegal downloaders could be one of the measures adopted.