Proposed Anti-Piracy Laws Could Ban Suspected European Pirates from Internet Access

A series of anti-piracy proposals in consideration by the European Union could result in internet users being permanently banned from the web if suspected of sharing copyrighted materials, the BBC reports.

The amendments also call for a Europe-wide "three strikes" law, which would ban users from the web after three warnings that they are suspected of sharing copyrighted materials on file-sharing networks. The laws also allow governments to decide what software can "lawfully" be used on the internet.

Digital rights campaigners claim that anti-piracy lobbyists have hijacked the proposals and worked in amendments that amount to an assault on the freedoms of web users.

"Tomorrow, popular software applications like Skype or even Firefox might be declared illegal in Europe if they are not certified by an administrative authority," said Foundation for a Free Internet Infrastructure representative Benjamin Henrion, who added that the proposals would create a "Soviet internet."

Piracy has become a grave concern for many developers worldwide, prompting studios such as Crytek, Infinity Ward, and several others to publicly voice their concerns and deploy draconian anti-piracy measures in their software.

Members of the European Parliament were scheduled to vote on the proposals today, though the results of the vote were not immediately available.

European Parliament member and bill proponent Malcolm Harbour dismissed concerns, suggesting instead that the amendments would likely improve rights for consumers. Meanwhile, the UK-based law firm Cobbetts LLP countered that the amendment will cause myriad technical problems for legitimate users.

"Many broadband users routinely transfer large files which are encrypted," said Cobbetts media partner Susan Hall. "Many of these are acting quite legitimately and in order to determine whether or not such large files are or are not the produce of illicit file sharing the ISP will have to carry out an unprecedented degree of analysis of its customers' traffic."

"Furthermore, computers are frequently shared—within offices, within homes, within educational institutions and inadvertently, where wrong-doers 'piggy back' on an inadequately secured Wi-Fi connection. All this raises the specter of people losing internet access—for reasons which are no fault of their own," Hall concluded.