After the French come the Brits: Three strikes or internet cut-off as punishment for illegal filesharing was not included in the Digital Britain report, but now the government wants it after all:

…Today the government will take the unusual step of proposing much stricter rules midway through the Digital Britain consultation process. Illegal filesharers will still get warning letters but if they continue to swap copyrighted material they could have their internet connection temporarily severed, although it may be possible to retain basic access to online public services. A similar law in France under which filesharers could be cut off for up to a year was recently kicked out by the country’s highest court as unconstitutional. In the UK, privacy groups are likely to challenge any similar legislation as contrary to human rights law.

“Basic access to online public services” is cute.