French piracy law redrafted

Politicians in France have passed a redrafted version of a contested internet piracy bill.

The bill, which is being backed by President Sarkozy and his wife, the singer Carla Bruni, was contested by the constitutional court, the country's legal watchdog, which found part of the bill to be unconstitutional.

The court objected to certain powers of the new agency, to be set up under the terms of the bill, which would allow it to shut down web access for up to a year for people who download music and movies illegally.

Under the redraft, this power shifts from the state agency to the courts.

The bill has been in and out of French parliament and courts as lawyers and politicians wrangle over the new powers it grants for the state to kick web abusers off the net.

Digital Britain: the main points

The bill imposes fines of up to €300,000 (about £260,000) on persistent downloaders and fines of up to €1,500 (about £1,300) on account holders found guilty of "negligence" for allowing their network to be used to download.

The tough new bill is now headed to the National Assembly where it will be formally approved and adopted.

Under the recently released Digital Britain report, the UK government laid out its plans for tackling internet piracy.

The government has handed extra powers to Ofcom, the media regulator, and proposes "technical solutions" to curb the connection speeds of people who download illegally.