French Three-Strikes Survey: Less Than 3.5% Have Quit P2P?

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HADOPI survey says that 7% of 1500 surveyed Internet users reported they or someone close to them had received a notification letter, and of that 50% have stopped entirely, but govt spins survey to report that 50% in general have been "encouraged to legally acquire copyrighted material."

There's a saying that a good politician never lets the facts get in the way of the truth, and this certainly applies to a recently released French "three-strikes" survey.

The High Authority for the Protection of works on the Internet (HADOPI), the govt agency tasked with enforcing France's draconian "three-strikes" regime, conducted a survey on the impact that Internet users feel the law has had on their illegal downloading habits.

It cites several "key figures," in the survey's introduction, but once you read what they're predicated on it your realize the law, in reality, has had minimal, if any impact on overall illicit P2P behavior.

The survey says that HADOPI has encouraged 50% of users to "consume more regularly works respectful of copyrights," and that a similar 50% believe establishing HADOPI is "a good initiative."

The problem is that both stats are deceiving.

Only 7% of the 1500 surveyed reported that either they or someone close receieved a warning letter for illegal downloading, and of that 50% stopped entirely. This means the law has caused only 3.5% of 1500 to quit, and this figure includes third party assumptions that the "someone close" had really quit.

The other stat, that half believe HADOPI is a "a good initiative" is also deceiving. As pointed out by the French site Numerama, it's not a question of effectiveness, but its legitimacy .

A previous HADOPI survey found:

(google translation) …nearly half in doubt the legitimacy, appropriateness to changing technological or legal. They are thus 51% find it "only serves the interests of certain", 43% thought it 'has no real effect on the illegal use of cultural works ", and 41% judge that it "infringes on individual freedoms."

It seems HADOPI still doesn't let facts get in the way of the truth.

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