Sarkozy calls for “Google tax” as Hadopi law put in place

France’s so-called Hadopi law to protect internet content rights is now officially in place. The controversial law will see internet file-sharers penalised by having their internet service terminated following their third warning.

Culture minister Frédéric Mitterrand on Friday named the members of the body that will be in charge of sending letters to illegal downloaders. However the first warning letters will not be sent until April, following the publication of two final decrees determining how the law will be applied.

French president Nicolas Sarkozy has meanwhile said he agrees with plans to see Google pay more taxes in France, as outlined in a recent report by music label Naïve CEO Patrick Zelnik, former culture minister Jacques Toubon and Sotheby’s France CEO Guillaume Cerutti. The report calls for a tax of one or two per cent on online advertising. While not endorsing this specifically, Sarkozy has said he would like to see large internet companies pay more taxes in France.