Pirate downloads

The French Senate on Wednesday overwhelmingly voted into law a controversial measure that will cut off Internet access to people who repeatedly download copyrighted music, films or video games without paying.

The vote, which had already passed the lower house by a narrow margin on Tuesday, represents a success for President Nicolas Sarkozy, who championed the groundbreaking law.

The opposition Socialists alienated many of their traditional supporters in the arts world by fighting the move. The legislation aims to protect the revenues of record and film companies and recording artists.

After two warnings pirates will be cut off

The tough new laws would punish music download pirates by shutting off their Internet access for up to a year. Under the terms of the bill, Internet pirates will receive two warnings, but their Internet connection will be cut after the third offence.

During the time they are disconnected, they will have to continue paying their Internet provider.

The music and film industries in France and abroad have shown wide support for the bill, but consumer groups and the Socialist opposition have warned it would be difficult to implement.

Opponents have criticized the penalties, and say access to the Internet should be a fundamental right.

Consumer groups said they feared intrusive monitoring of online activity and warn that innocent users may be unfairly punished if hackers use their accounts to download files.

The new law's introduction onto the statute books is likely to be delayed by at least a month. Opponents have promised to challenge the legislation in France's top court.