Amendment 138 accepted by European Commission

The now famous Amendment 138 - which directly opposes the so-called "three strikes" policy implemented by the French Government in the HADOPI law project - is still on, says the European Commission.

"Amendment 138 adopted by Parliament in its plenary vote on 24 September provides that "no restriction may be imposed on the fundamental rights and freedoms of end-users, without a prior ruling by the judicial authorities, notably in accordance with Article 11 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union on freedom of expression and information, save when public security is threatened where the ruling may be subsequent." As already stated on 6 October, the Commission can accept this amendment, which was voted by a nine-tenths majority in the European Parliament plenary (MEMO/08/681). The Commission considers this amendment to be an important restatement of key legal principles of the Community legal order, especially of citizens' fundamental rights. It leaves Member States sufficient scope for reaching a fair balance between different fundamental rights, in particular the right to respect for private life, the right to protection of property, the right to an effective remedy and the right to freedom of expression and information."

This message doesn't seem the echo in Paris... Having failed to kill the Amendment, the French Government stuck their head in the sand and rushed the HADOPI law in the French Senate, who approved it with an almost unanimous vote.

Next episodes:

• Nov 27 2008: council of EU Telecoms Ministers on November 27.
• Q1 2009: second reading of the HADOPI law in the French Parliament scheduled for early 2009.
• Apr 2009: second reading of the Telecom Package in the European Parliament.
  
• 2010: the new regulatory framework is expected to become law in all 27 EU Member States.

This is far, far from over. Get informed!