[A2k] EU Culture Council rejects French three-strikes proposal

[Pranesh Prakash]

Dear All,
Some important developments from the Council of the EU (the 2905th
Education, Youth, and Culture Council meeting)
<http://www.consilium.europa.eu/uedocs/cms_Data/docs/pressdata/en/educ/1041=
98.pdf>,
in the form of a resolution titled "Council Conclusions on the
development of legal offers of online cultural and creative content
and the prevention and combating of piracy in the digital
environment":

On TPMs:
"Although the use of technical systems for protection (Technical
Protection Measures (TPM)) or rights-management information (Digital
Rights Management (DRM)) may in some cases, while taking due account
of the principle of personal-data protection, contribute to protecting
and managing rights in the digital world, the lack of interoperability
or transparency of these systems creates insecurity for consumers and
limits their use of the content offered by the various platforms;"

On balancing of rights and proportionality:
"The need to ensure a fair balance between the various fundamental
rights, particularly the right to personal data protection, freedom of
expression and information and the protection of intellectual
property, and to seek, when implementing Community law, solutions in
compliance with the general principles of Community law, in particular
the principle of proportionality."

Glyn Moody makes much of the ordering of the rights in that sentence.

----
>From Glyn Moody:
http://opendotdotdot.blogspot.com/2008/11/three-strikes-and-youre-out-struc=
k-down.html

21 November 2008
"Three Strikes and You're Out" Struck Down

Wow. I was convinced that the meeting of EU culture ministers
yesterday was going to end badly; I was wrong
<http://www.consilium.europa.eu/uedocs/cms_Data/docs/pressdata/en/educ/1041=
98.pdf>
- and I take my virtual hat off to them:

    EU culture ministers yesterday (20 November) rejected French
proposals to curb online piracy through compulsory measures against
free downloading, instead agreeing to promote legal offers of music or
films on the Internet.
    The EU Culture Council pushed yesterday (20 November) for "a fair
balance between the various fundamental rights" while fighting online
piracy, first listing "the right to personal data protection," then
"the freedom of information" and only lastly "the protection of
intellectual property".
    The Council conclusions also stressed the importance of
"consumers' expectations in terms of access [=E2=80=A6] and diversity of th=
e
content offered online". No mention was made of a gradual response to
serial downloaders of illegal cultural material, as foreseen by the
French authorities.


I think this is very significant, because it indicates that the
culture ministers and their advisers are beginning to understand the
dynamics of the Net, that throttling its use through crude instruments
like the "three strikes and you're out" is exactly the wrong thing to
do, and that there are serious issues to do with freedom of
information at stake here that cannot simply be brushed aside as
Sarkozy and his media chums wish to do.

Judging by the generally sensible tone of the meeting's conclusions
<http://www.consilium.europa.eu/uedocs/cms_Data/docs/pressdata/en/educ/1041=
98.pdf>,
the optimist in me starts to hope that the tide is finally turning.
However, I do wonder whether this saga is finished yet, or whether the
Telecoms Package still has some teeth
<http://www.laquadrature.net/en/how-french-presidency-hides-a-political-lau=
ndering-inside-eu-telecoms-package>
that it can bare....

Update: Following up that thought, here's a letter
<http://opendotdotdot.blogspot.com/2008/11/save-our-amendment-138.html>
I've sent to the relevant UK ministers who will be involved in a
crucial meeting on the Telecoms Package this week (24/11/08).

----
/. thread on the above: http://tech.slashdot.org/tech/08/11/23/1952248.shtm=
l

Regards,
Pranesh

--
Pranesh Prakash
Programme Manager
Centre for Internet and Society

T: +91 80 40926283
W: http://cis-india.org