EU members strike deal to prevent arbitrary cutoff of Internet service

Pursuant to heavy lobbying from music and film industry groups urging the 27-nation bloc to take action against Internet pirates, the controversial telecoms reform package introduced by several EU states would have granted state authorities arbitrary power to crack down on illegal downloaders but it met with stiff resistance from consumer protection groups, which felt that the proposal, if passed, would create a draconic law.

Not surprisingly, the reform package took two long years to make and included several amendments even as EU lawmakers were at loggerheads with several governments, especially France, over how to tackle the increase of illegal downloading and finally, on Thursday early morning, the EU lawmakers decided to move ahead with the package while making sure that the rights of the consumers were protected.

According to EU Telecoms Commissioner Viviane Reding, the proposed package contains adequate safeguards to protect users from arbitrary cutoffs of their Internet services. Thursday's agreement, the official said, ensures that a "three strikes" law (proposed by French President Nicolas Sarkozy and seconded by the UK government, under which Internet use would be tracked and users caught downloading would be warned twice before their Internet access would be cut off for a year) "will certainly not become part of European law," Reding said.

Under the guarantee, Reding said, national authorities will only be able to cut off such services if they have proof that a user was downloading illegal copies of movies or music files, ensuring users are presumed innocent.

According to Reding, "the EU takes fundamental rights very seriously" and the new package "(will) substantially enhance consumer rights and consumer choice in Europe's telecoms markets."

"This Internet freedom provision is unprecedented," Reding said.

"This is really a step forward," said Spanish lawmaker Alejo Vidal-Quadras. "Full due process rights will have to apply in any administrative case, except in cases of duly justified urgency, like serious crime, terrorism, child pornography."

"It has been long hard battle but at least all sides have acknowledged that fundamental rights of users need to be guaranteed in the digital world," said Monique Goyens, the director general of BEUC, the European Consumers' Organisation.

However, some consumer rights groups feel the EU lawmakers have not done enough as the reform package does not give suspected illegal downloaders the clear right to a judicial hearing.