Big Brother Goes Online

France’s new copyright law could be the first step in transforming the internet into one big wiretap.

There is a deliciously ironic, pathetically sad, and deeply frightening story coming out of France this week.

On January 1, France's new and controversial Loi favorisant la diffusion et la protection de la création sur internet, or law promoting the distribution and protection of creative works on the internet, came into effect. The law makes it illegal to download copyright protected works and uses a "three-strikes" system of enforcement. The first two times an individual illegally downloads copyrighted content (either knowingly or unknowingly) they receive a warning. After the third infraction, the entire household has its internet access permanently cut off. To restore it, the household’s computers must be outfitted with special monitoring software which tracks everything the computer does and every website it’s used to visit.

Over at FontFeed, Yves Peters chronicles how the French Agency designated with enforcing the legislation, the Haute Autorité pour la Diffusion des Œuvres et la Protection des Droits sur Internet, or Hadopi, illegally used a copyrighted font without the permission of its owner in their logo design. Worse, once caught, the organization tried to cover up this fact by lying to the public. Even if fonts and internet law are not your thing, the story really is worth reading.

But as funny and ironic as Hadopi’s copyright infringement is, it is also deeply scary. Hadopi, which is supposed to prevent the illegal downloading of copyrighted materials, couldn't even launch without (innocently or not) breaking the law. They, however, are above the law. There will be no repercussions for the organization and no threat that its internet access will be cut off.

The story for French internet users, however, will be quite different. Over the next few months I wouldn't be surprised if tens, or even hundreds, of thousands of French citizens inadvertently download copyrighted material illegally and, in order to keep their internet access, will be forced to allow the French Government to monitor everything they do on their computer.

In short, Hadopi will functionally become a system of mass surveillance – a tool that enables the French government to monitor the online activities of more and more of its citizens. Indeed, it is conceivable that after a few years a significant number, possibly even a majority, of French computers could be monitored. Forget Google. In France, the government is the Big Brother you need to worry about.

Internet users in other countries should also be concerned. The "three strikes" provision adopted by France has allegedly been discussed during the negotiations of ACTA, an international anti-counterfeiting treaty that is being secretly negotiated between a number of developed countries.

Suddenly copyright becomes a vehicle to justify the government’s right to know everything you do online. To ensure some of your online activities don't violate copyright online, all online activities will need to be monitored. And so the internet, the greatest single vehicle for free thought and expression, will be transformed into a giant wiretap.