President Sarkozy suffered an embarrassing setback in his efforts to curb illegal downloading when an opposition ploy led Parliament to reject a controversial new law that would cut off internet service to offenders.

The bill had already been passed by both houses in a first reading but the sudden arrival of Socialist MPs in a near-empty chamber led to a 21-15 vote defeat on the final vote in the National Assembly.

Read full story: Times Online

Related topics: Law, P2P, Policy & Regulation