EU lawmakers and governments agreed Thursday on proposed new telecommunication rules that better protect European mobile phone and Internet users from arbitrary service cutoffs. EU Telecoms Commissioner Viviane Reding said a deal was reached after EU governments agreed to EU parliament demands to balance a crackdown on illegal downloaders with a broader set of rights for telecom users. The reforms were two years in the making. EU lawmakers had been at odds with governments, notably France, over how to tackle the increase of illegal downloading amid heavy lobbying from music and film industry groups urging the 27-nation bloc to take action. Film and record labels were demanding better enforcement of copyright rules to protect profits that are shrinking in the face of online file-sharing, in which people swap music files without paying. However, in a victory for the EU assembly, governments relented and agreed to include guarantees in the bill protecting users from arbitrary cutoffs of their Internet services. The bill still needs the final approval of the European Parliament and EU governments, which is expected later this month. Under the guarantee, national authorities will only be able to cut off such services if they have proof that a user was downloading illegal copies of movies or music files, ensuring users are presumed innocent.
