This past week, the French government abandoned its “three strikes” measure, which was passed by the Sarcozy government in 2009. Under the model, internet users who infringed copyright three times, could have had their internet access suspended for a short period of time.The US has a similar measure in place known simply either as the Copyright Alert System (CAS). CAS is somewhat different from the measure previously enforced in France, the main difference being that under CAS the internet subscriber has six strikes before his access to the internet is suspended.
The question of whether it is right to restrict internet access in the name of Piracy depends on if internet access is considered a basic human right. This was the basis under which the The French government abandoned this measure: France’s highest court, the Constitutional Council, declared the internet to be a basic human right and suspending access to it to be incompatible with their constitution.
Ostensibly it seems silly that the source of endless funny cat videos known as “the internet” can be a basic human right, but if we think it about it, the internet is to most people a necessary means of gaining information and communication. In the modern home, internet access is comparatively necessary to having access to electricity, running water, or gas. Lets put it this way: if a person is found guilty of cooking drugs at his home, cutting off his gas access can hardly be considered as right.
