Reuters is reporting that

Internet users in France who frequently download music or films illegally risk losing Web access under a new anti-piracy system unveiled on Friday.

The three-way pact between Internet service providers, the government and owners of film and music rights is a boon to the music industry, which has been calling for such measures to stop illicit downloads eating into its sales.

Under the agreement — drawn up by a commission headed by the chief executive of FNAC, one of France’s biggest music and film retailers — service providers will issue warning messages to customers downloading files illegally.

If users ignore those messages, their accounts could be suspended or closed altogether.

I wonder how they will monitor this and know who is downloading illegally. The ISPs are signing up for a major headache if they want to try and keep track of all this. And how will they get paid for doing this extra work? Probably, higher fees for internet access in France.

I’m glad I don’t live there.

Technorati Tags: music, file sharing, France, piracy