Since Three Strikes Went Into Effect, Unauthorized File Trading Has Increased In France

from the nice-work dept

Wed, Mar 10th 2010 11:43am — Mike Masnick

While I don't believe that the new Hadopi "three strikes" law in France has started being enforced yet (due to data privacy questions), it technically went into effect at the beginning of the year, and was widely promoted around France. Of course, our big question was why anyone thought that such laws would actually make anyone buy. The general reasoning that supporters of such laws gave is that it would decrease unauthorized file trading, and those people would magically want to start buying again. But, of course, as mentioned at the time, we already have empirical data that this wouldn't work. After all, here in the US, thousands of people were threatened with millions of dollars in fines for file sharing -- a punishment significantly more stringent than losing your internet connection. And, rather than decrease the amount of unauthorized file trading, it only increased (quite a bit), often moving to more underground resources.

So it should come as little (i.e., no) surprise that in the few months since the Hadopi law has technically been in effect in France, reports have found an increase in unauthorized file trading, along with a notable shift from BitTorrent to other, less trackable, solutions.

So what's next? Suing doesn't work. Kicking people off the internet doesn't work. Can we hope that maybe next on the list is actually putting in place a good business model?

Thank you for reading this Techdirt post. With so many things competing for everyone’s attention these days, we really appreciate you giving us your time. We work hard every day to put quality content out there for our community.

Techdirt is one of the few remaining truly independent media outlets. We do not have a giant corporation behind us, and we rely heavily on our community to support us, in an age when advertisers are increasingly uninterested in sponsoring small, independent sites — especially a site like ours that is unwilling to pull punches in its reporting and analysis.

While other websites have resorted to paywalls, registration requirements, and increasingly annoying/intrusive advertising, we have always kept Techdirt open and available to anyone. But in order to continue doing so, we need your support. We offer a variety of ways for our readers to support us, from direct donations to special subscriptions and cool merchandise — and every little bit helps. Thank you.

–The Techdirt Team

Filed Under: france, three strikes

32 Comments

If you liked this post, you may also be interested in...

Reader Comments

Subscribe: RSS

View by: Time | Thread

:Lobo Santo (profile), 10 Mar 2010 @ 11:48am

*sigh*
"So what's next? Suing doesn't work. Kicking people off the internet doesn't work. Can we hope that maybe next on the list is actually putting in place a good business model?"
No, next on the list is harnessing several dead horses together for greater speed, as they've already passed the "but we've always ridden the dead horse this way" and the "form a committee to discuss how to make the dead horse more efficient" stages.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
A Dan (profile), 10 Mar 2010 @ 11:51am

A (hopefully simple) question
Why did you switch from the common term of "file sharing" to "file trading"? I realize this may have already been explained somewhere, but it seems strange to me.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
- Hephaestus (profile), 10 Mar 2010 @ 11:53am
  
  Re: A (hopefully simple) question
  Its a french thing .... you know those silly french
  [ link to this | view in chronology ]
- Anonymous Coward, 10 Mar 2010 @ 11:55am
  
  Re: A (hopefully simple) question
  File Sharing refers, usually, to P2P methods like LimeWire, Kazaa and Bittorent.
  
  File Trading isn't really a term that's used too much, I don't think, but I assume Mike was using it to describe non-P2P methods for getting files illegally.
  [ link to this | view in chronology ]
Chronno S. Trigger (profile), 10 Mar 2010 @ 11:53am

Others?
"along with a notable shift from BitTorrent to other, less trackable, solutions."

What other solutions? Why am I so far behind the times?
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
- Hephaestus (profile), 10 Mar 2010 @ 11:59am
  
  Re: Others?
  P2P bit torrent over VPN, Direct connect, etc
  [ link to this | view in chronology ]
  - Hephaestus (profile), 10 Mar 2010 @ 12:05pm
    
    Re: Re: Others?
    oops hit return instead of tab and submitted ...
    
    P2P and bit torrent over VPN, Direct Connect, sneaker net (sharing data via USB sticks and hard drive swaps), Megaupload and Rapidshare (cyberlockers), streaming services, etc
    [ link to this | view in chronology ]
    - Chronno S. Trigger (profile), 10 Mar 2010 @ 1:28pm
      
      Re: Re: Re: Others?
      Good to know I'm not behind the curve. In fact, I seem to be a little ahead. I've been using those for years now. Except the cyberlockers, I've given up on them.
      
      I was hoping there was a new technology out there. Not something that's a step or two backwards.
      [ link to this | view in chronology ]
- Anonymous Coward, 10 Mar 2010 @ 12:01pm
  
  Re: Others?
  BitTorrent has been rather outdated for a long while. Not to say it's not useful, because it's an amazing tool for people who don't want to host the downloads themselves, and it's extremely effective for initial releases.
  
  However, most Torrents die down after a month or two, with few seeders maintaining the download. If you want some longevity in your file hosting, the best place presently is probably free services like RapidShare (I know, shocking, isn't it?) which have free upload/download limits of 200mb per file and download speeds of 100kbps (usually). Throw in some workaround programs like JDownloader, and you can get 800mb files with almost no hassle whatsoever.
  
  ...uh...for perfectly legitimate reasons, that is. You'd never want to use any of these things for illegal things, of course.
  [ link to this | view in chronology ]
NAMELESS.ONE, 10 Mar 2010 @ 12:01pm

um file trading
go ahead explain NON-p2p methods for getitng files
is that me walking over to your house with 5 TB drives and then SHARING

whether its online or off the term should be sharing. I GIVE to you freely whether you give back or not is up to you.

THAT'S what sharing is, trading implies you have to give something to get something

and everything starts somewhere with someone and thats the real start of the share. THE trade aspect of p2p is to make it fair so more people can enjoy and such.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Anonymous Coward, 10 Mar 2010 @ 12:03pm

Can we hope that maybe next on the list is actually putting in place a good business model?

Nope. Next is legislating a compulsory chip in your brain that will erase movies and music from your memory after having seen them, closing the "analog hole" for good.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
- Anonymous Coward, 10 Mar 2010 @ 12:07pm
  
  Re:
  "Lobotomies for all!"
  "Boo!"
  "...Lobotomies for some, tiny American flags for others!"
  "Yay!"
  [ link to this | view in chronology ]
Anonymous Coward, 10 Mar 2010 @ 12:14pm

the important question is how many people have been kicked off the internet because of 3 strikes. i think the answer is none, which makes the whole discussion rather moot.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
- Anonymous Coward, 10 Mar 2010 @ 12:19pm
  
  Re:
  If you actually read the article, you'll be surprised to find that the non-BitTorrent methods that people have moved to are not covered by the Hadopi laws.
  
  That's right. The "business saving" legislation that took years of lobbying and political buyouts doesn't actually do anything. Hilarious, eh?
  [ link to this | view in chronology ]
  - Anonymous Coward, 10 Mar 2010 @ 12:22pm
    
    Re: Re:
    you didn't answer the question. how many people taken off line by three strikes in france? you cannot have a cause and effect article without showing the cause.
    [ link to this | view in chronology ]
    - The Infamous Joe (profile), 10 Mar 2010 @ 12:24pm
      
      Re: Re: Re:
      Of course Unauthorized File Sharing has gone up. It makes perfect sense:
      
      Old system: You share files and hope you don't get sued.
      
      New system: You share files and know when you'll get sued because they'll send you 2 warning letters first.
      
      Imagine if schools went from "zero tolerance" on drugs to
      "three strikes". Of course drug use would go up, because everyone got 2 freebies.
      
      Foolish, really, to think it would have any effect at all except this one.
      [ link to this | view in chronology ]
      - PaulT (profile), 10 Mar 2010 @ 12:47pm
        
        Re: Re: Re: Re:
        Yeah that's right, the only thing that stopped me from shooting up with heroin at school was the fact I wouldn't get any warning before the cops took me away...
        
        That might be the dumbest comment I've read today.
        [ link to this | view in chronology ]
        
        The Infamous Joe (profile), 10 Mar 2010 @ 12:58pm
        
        Re: Re: Re: Re: Re:
        Yes, because most high school kids *start* with Heroin, right?
        
        Tell me, what did stop you from shooting up heroin at high school?
        [ link to this | view in chronology ]
        
        Anonymous Coward, 10 Mar 2010 @ 1:04pm
        
        Re: Re: Re: Re: Re:
        Actually, there's a valid point there.
        
        If you get warnings, they're effectively forcing you to either stop (as if), or to find ways to better hide yourself.
        
        They're educating people, alright!
        [ link to this | view in chronology ]
    - Anonymous Coward, 10 Mar 2010 @ 12:45pm
      
      Re: Re: Re:
      Uh...what "cause and effect article"?
      
      No one has said that Hadopi law has caused an increase in illegal downloading. Only that it has yet to do anything that it's supposed to do.
      
      Reading comprehension. It's a good thing.
      [ link to this | view in chronology ]
    - Anonymous Coward, 10 Mar 2010 @ 12:45pm
      
      Re: Re: Re:
      Did you read the article? It says that it's not being enforced because of privacy issues. The article isn't concluding that file sharing went up because someone was convicted, it saying that it went up because the law went into effect. That's the cause.
      [ link to this | view in chronology ]
william (profile), 10 Mar 2010 @ 12:19pm

the next step, the industry will say, is to actually start using three strikes and see what happened, since no one got punished yet.

and we already know what will happen here in north america
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
- Hephaestus (profile), 11 Mar 2010 @ 6:48am
  
  Re:
  "and we already know what will happen here in north america"
  
  Political grand standing on the peoples behalf. People changing to an ISP that looks the other way. Better more anonymous methods of transfering files. People feeling more secure about downloading because of the new anonymity. People reading the news and asking what is this file sharing thing, then finding the wonderful world of P2P, bit torrent, weblockers, streaming video, etc.
  
  All in all its a no win situation for the labels and studios. It will eventually escalate to infringing being a criminal offense, with people going to jail and will do no good. The studios like the labels are going have to adapt or fail as viable businesses.
  [ link to this | view in chronology ]
TSO, 10 Mar 2010 @ 12:24pm

> since the Hadopi law has technically been in effect in France, reports have found an increase in unauthorized file trading

Sure. They rush to download the internets before they are diconnected. ;-)
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Anonymous Coward, 10 Mar 2010 @ 12:48pm

The next step is obviously jailing people. Then when that doesnt work , its executing people. And when the fear of death holds no sway over the people, the executives will commit seppuku to save face in light of their money induced mental retardation.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
- BearGriz72 (profile), 10 Mar 2010 @ 2:15pm
  
  Re: Seppuku
  Seppuku Onegai Shimasu!
  [ link to this | view in chronology ]
Anonymous Coward, 10 Mar 2010 @ 12:57pm

Since I do not read French, is there in the report any indication that the total number of people engaging in downloading/uploading is increasing, and if so by how much?
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
James, 10 Mar 2010 @ 2:14pm

Ewww ewww I know
The next law they will try to pass will be that some media exec will have to sit with each person as they use the internet and make sure they don't infringe. :-P
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Luci Temple, 10 Mar 2010 @ 4:00pm

Piracy
Thanks, great post :)

The only way to fix the problem is to acknowledge the reasons why so many people - otherwise law abiding citizens - do partake in this illegal activity. Part of the problem is anti-piracy campaigns that equate minor copyright infringement to large scale operations - the issue is more complex - this grandstanding is rejected by most people.

There are many good arguments for a better business model that meets consumer needs so that they don't feel the need to infringe copyright. Capitalists with large mark ups often cite that they are priced according to market demand - what the market is willing to pay. Conversly, the file sharing movement is a sure sign that in fact many are questioning those prices and, without a middleground option, will take it for free rather than pay too much.

At other times people download what they can't get through normal routes. Films are not always distributed to every country or every town - or at all. Once upon a time a 'bootleg' would find it's way from person to person, but you had to be in the know. Now things get uploaded online instead. E.g. American Boy was a bootleg that inspired many filmmakers including Tarentino. When a later doc was made wanting to use clips from this (american prince) the best quality footage was not the director's copy but rather the Youtube version.

Looking at file sharing in black and white legal terms allows no agreement between sides - instead we need to examine which situations where ethics and law are at odds and modify the law so that only the unethical cases are illegal.

I have a series of posts examining this issue in greater detail on my blog if you are interested - I welcome comments.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
- Michael, 11 Mar 2010 @ 5:22am
  
  Re: Piracy
  I'm not sure looking at the ethics makes much sense either. Ethics are subjective and based on society. The internet is larger than any one ethical group, so how do you reconcile the ethics of the content creators on one side of the planet with the ethics of consumers on the other side? In fact, that is what is happening. Some content creators (or content creator middle-men) are complaining that downloading their content is unethical while some portion of the population clearly disagrees (most people don't behave in a way that conflicts with their ethics).
  [ link to this | view in chronology ]
John Mitchell (profile), 11 Mar 2010 @ 6:23am

Risk-free downloading
There is a certain "Duh! What did they expect?" element to this. I have no doubt that if we had a three-srikes law in the U.S., unauthorized downloading would spike. "Download all you can before the first strike." If people knew that the first time they got pulled over for speeding they would get a free pass, we would see more speeding. Yikes! Imagine a three-strikes law for murder -- everybody gets to get rid of at least one person during their lifetime. Investors in the copyight hodling companies who have pressed for these laws should hold management accountable for stupidity.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Anonymous Coward, 12 Mar 2010 @ 12:18pm

you guys are waaay off about the three strikes and saying it is what's boosting it.
First reason is, now the government is talking about it, so people get more interested in it, and now methods of piracy better knows and easier to find...

But the biggest problem is, they flash solely based on the IP address, which can be faked, and we'll probably get some 85 years old grandma getting one, then two warnings about piracy...

And it gets better: if it turns out you did not download anything, then someone must have used your connection, and you can pay over 1000 euros fine because it's your fault you did not secure your connection....

Added to the fact that, if they do follow with their theoretical 10 000 warnings per day, judges who will pronounce the decision of whether to cut, or give a fine, or check if the person is really not guilty, have 5 minutes to deliberate...

As for the reasons of piracy, those mentioned were good, just add the teenager with little pocket money who still wishes to listen to his favorite artists and watch his favorite movies... he buys what he can, and when he cannot, he watches online for free..
[ link to this | view in chronology ]