The chief executive of Fox Filmed Entertainment said Monday the U.S. should join France in cutting off the Net connection of users who repeatedly download copyright-protected films.

CEO Jim Gianopulos said Web piracy is the restricted biggest threat to the film industry worldwide, and independent films are the hardest hit.

“The poor news is that the World Wide Web is big, and it’s anonymous,” Gianopulos told a news conference in Athens.

But he said Web service providers can track down subscribers whose IP address — the rare number assigned to every computer that connects to the Web — has been spotted downloading films illegally and issue warnings.

Gianopulos said punishing repeat offenders would help create “a level playing field” for filmmakers.

“If we can do that, it would be a big victory against piracy,” he said, cautioning that taking away the small percentage of profit many films manufacture threatens the industry.

Gianopulos said that it

is equally crucial to inform young society about the problem of piracy.

“It is fundamental to show them that there is a connection amoung what they’re doing and theft, and what they’re doing and people’s jobs,” Gianopulos said. He was in Greece for a lecture, and talks with Greek film industry professionals.

France has already created what it says is the first government agency to track and punish online pirates.

The European Parliament initially opposed efforts by European Union governments to cut off a user’s Net connection without a court order — but the two sides reached a compromise that month and EU lawmakers and governments agreed on new rights for World Wide Web.

Film and record labels have heavily lobbied the 27-nation bloc, demanding better enforcement of copyright rules to protect profits that are shrinking in the face of online file-sharing, in which humans swap music files without paying.

Original post by dhiram