Fighting consumer piracy with graduated response: An evaluation of the French and British implementations

This paper aims to assess the graduated response systems implemented in France (HADOPI) and in the UK (Digital Economy Act) to reduce consumer piracy. It investigates the rationale of graduated response and its requirements and evaluates (from theoretical and practical standpoints) both French and British systems. While the French system fulfils more requirements, the British system reflects a more cautious approach that involves a 'double' graduated response. The costs of both implementations are then investigated. The paper is concluded with remarks on the worthiness of graduated response, the potential problems caused by technological issues and the timeliness of such policies.