European 'internet freedom' law agreed [ZDNet]
The European Union is set to approve an omnibus set of new regulations when it comes to the rights of Internet users across that continent. Called the Telecoms Reform Package, it is set to deal with issues that range from protections for copyright holders to number porting requirements to the right of citizens to have access to the Internet. While the legislation sets forth that access to the Internet is a fundamental right in European countries, it allows each country to set forth procedures for blocking Internet access for copyright pirates - based on a "prior fair and impartial procedure."
Much of the motivation for the legislation stems from countries, like France and Britain, where some legislators have put forth proposals to ban content pirates from the Internet after three occurrences of copyright infringement. Some consumer organizations were opposed to these laws, and the resulting debate has spawned this compromise.
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