Greetings. In what can only be described as a breathtaking abuse of power, and a clear illustration of the lengths to which supporters of the proposed French "Three Strikes and You're Thrown Off the Internet" law will go, a Web designer who privately e-mailed his MP in opposition to the legislation had word of this stance passed all the way back to his employer (French broadcaster TF1), who immediately fired him for "divergence forte avec la stratégie" (that is, "strong disagreement with the strategy).

Outside of the obvious violations of privacy and common decency on the part of French government officials who were involved in this fiasco, the reaction on the part of TF1 suggests the level of omnipotence apparently felt by organizations affiliated with the French ISP industry.

While the abominable legislation in question appears likely to pass this time around, after a surprise failure on the first try, it also seems likely to run smack-dab into new EU rules that are viewing Internet access as a right that should not be revocable in the absence of appropriate and specific court actions.

Luckily for Jérôme Bourreau-Guggenheim, the fired TF1 employee, France indeed did close down the prison at French Guiana -- aka Devil's Island -- some time ago. Phew!

--Lauren--