Suhit Gupta
03-14-2006, 03:00 PM
<div class='os_post_top_link'><a href='http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20060309/tc_afp/franceinternet' target='_blank'>http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20060309/tc_afp/franceinternet</a><br /><br /></div><i>"French lawmakers debated a proposal that would introduce a de facto download tax to legalise the copying of movie and music files from the Internet, after an embarrassed government was forced to resubmit the idea for a vote. The proposal, an amendment to a bill before the assembly, has ignited a fierce debate over copyright between supporters of a monthly licence fee allowing them to download material, and critics who claim it would open the way to large-scale piracy. At the same time, the government has been caught in a procedural mess that obliged Culture Minister Renaud Donnedieu de Vabres to reintroduce the article containing the "download tax" late Wednesday just two days after ordering it withdrawn from the general bill."</i><br /><br />This is an interesting idea. I can't decide whether I think that this is awful or whether I support it. On the one hand, it is evil for all the obvious reasons, but then I think of it from the government's point of view and it is an interesting approach to try and keep track of the illegal downloading of copyrighted content. So what camp are you in?