MEPs reject calls for 'filtered internet'

In defiance of the major music companies and film industry, the European Parliament has voted against punishing alleged file-sharers by shutting off their internet connection, an idea that has been pushed by both record labels and French President Nicolas Sarkozy over the last year.

An amendment to a report on Europe's Cultural Industries that was narrowly adopted by the parliament on Thursday (10 April) describes such a manoeuvre as disproportionate to the act of downloading a copyrigh...