France is getting tough on Internet pirates by taking away Internet access for serial downloaders who illegally download films and music as part of a new three-way pact between the French government, owners of film and music rights and Internet service providers.

France is getting tough on Internet pirates by taking away Internet access for serial downloaders who illegally download films and music as part of a new three-way pact between the French government, owners of film and music rights and Internet service providers.

The government agreement was drawn up by a commission headed up by the chief executive of the FNAC, one of France's biggest music and film retailers. Under the agreement, Internet service providers will first issue a warning message to customers downloading files illegally - if the users ignore these messages, then their accounts can be suspended or even completely closed. The French government will appoint an independent authority that will be placed in charge of deciding when to issue the electronic warning messages.