French government puts idea of download tax to MPs
French government puts idea of download tax to MPs
1 hour, 31 minutes ago
PARIS (AFP) - French lawmakers debated a proposal that would introduce a de facto download tax to legalise the copying of movie and music files from the Internet, after an embarrassed government was forced to resubmit the idea for a vote.
The proposal, an amendment to a bill before the assembly, has ignited a fierce debate over copyright between supporters of a monthly licence fee allowing them to download material, and critics who claim it would open the way to large-scale piracy.
At the same time, the government has been caught in a procedural mess that obliged Culture Minister Renaud Donnedieu de Vabres to reintroduce the article containing the "download tax" late Wednesday just two days after ordering it withdrawn from the general bill.
"I want the debate to continue. I'm prepared to go right to the end of the debate," he told lawmakers, promising that the government would not railroad through the measure past fierce opposition.
The contentious article is part of a bill before parliament that is meant to define French digital copyright law and bring it into line with an EU-wide directive issued five years ago.
Drafted by the government, the main bill essentially outlaws downloading and the copying of commercial DVDs and CDs -- except for very limited private use -- and establishes fines and prison sentences as punishment for offenders.
An estimated eight to 10 million people in France -- nearly 17 percent of the population -- already download copyrighted files without making any sort of payment.
The government hastily suspended the initial examination of the bill in December 2005, when a small group of ruling party and opposition MPs managed to attach the amendment that would legalise downloading for a fee.
The amendment calls for the general licence fee to be added to monthly subscription charges Internet users pay companies to access the Web.
The sum, expected to be around eight to 12 euros (9.5 to 14 dollars), would go to a centralised fund to pay artists' royalties.
Villepin's government is, in fact, deeply hostile to the download tax, which it fears will open the way to rampant piracy. After withdrawing the bill, it lightened the fines in an attempt to mollify consumer advocates and then on Tuesday resubmitted the text to parliament -- minus the download fee provision.
But on Wednesday, the government apparently found that it had overstepped its constitutional powers by excising the article, and as a result the measure was reintroduced.
Villepin is now banking on the governing UMP's majority in the lower house and the Senate to ultimately quash the downloading amendment that it could not -- for procedural reasons -- remove on its own.
A consumer group lobbying for the download fee, the Association of Audionautes, hailed the government's forced U-turn and renewed debate on the idea.
But the opposition Socialists said it smacked of "amateurism" and called for a parliamentary commission to fully examine the problem of balancing consumer rights and copyright in the Internet age.
Musicians' union Samup, which also backs a general licence fee, called for the resignation of Donnedieu de Vabres and "a proper, healthy debate between artists' right to remuneration on one hand, and the liberty of Internet users on the other."
Despite the humiliation dealt to the government by the process, observers predict the bill will eventually become law without legalising downloading.
The debate, which had been expected to be completed on Thursday, will continue next week, Assembly deputy president Yves Bur announced late Thursday.
The measure is due to go to a vote on March 15.
The debate, however, could further weaken public support for Villepin's government ahead of elections next year.
credit Yahoo.com
