UN: Anti-piracy laws ‘breach human rights’
June 6, 2011
By Colin Mann
A UN expert has suggested that provisions of the UK’s Digital Economy Act and similar legislation in France that could see music and film pirates cut off from the Internet are disproportionate. The comments came in a report produced for the UN Human Rights Council on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression.
Frank La Rue, the report’s author and UN special rapporteur on freedom of expression, called on the UK government to “repeal or amend” the legislation. He said he was “alarmed by proposals to disconnect users from Internet access if they violate intellectual property rights”.
“This also includes legislation based on the concept of ‘graduated response’, which imposes a series of penalties on copyright infringers that could lead to suspension of Internet service, such as the so-called ‘three strikes law’ in France and the Digital Economy Act 2010 of the United Kingdom,” he asserted.