It’s Groundhog Day in France. Or it might just seem that way because French politicians are once again mulling over legislation to punish file sharers.

It seems like only days ago that the proposed laws, which include that controversial “three strikes and you’re out” element, was rejected.  A few tweaks and amendments though, and it’s back on the table. (Sound familiar?)

Under the planned legislation, a state agency would be set up to  do the finger wagging, sending a warning email to alleged illegal file sharers.  Keep it up and the  next warning will come via snail mail, until finally, you are booted off your connection for a year.

There are so many reasons why this “three strikes” proposal is one of the daftest ideas someone came up with. And I’m including in that the copy protection on CDs that was broken with a cheap black marker.

Never mind the fact that this has already been given the thumbs down at European level, proving that the person having their internet access yanked is actually the guilty party could be difficult enough. IP addresses can be faked, leading to trouble for investigators.

I feel like I’ve done nothing but write posts lately about the music industry, piracy and how this solution – and I use that word very, very lightly – is probably not the magic wand that some quarters appear to think it will be.

Question for the music industry: if every country brings in a three strikes rule and implements it stringently, and revenue still continues to fall, who will you blame?

But carry on. By all means. I just can’t promise not laugh to myself in a year’s time when we’re hearing about the next solution to the problem, because (surprise, surprise) file sharing still hasn’t been stamped out.