It's not easy being a President, whether your Obama bailing out the banks and automakers or that guy' married to the former model in France. 'That guy' is actually French President Sarkozy, a conservative keen to be seen amongst the world as a tough piracy reformer, eager to clamp down on a generation of French, weaned off speedy Bittorrent and P2P download access.
So, it comes as something of a relief to read that a one of the top courts in France have decryed recent laws that were designed to disconnect users from the web after a controversial three-stikes proposal.
The Times Online are reporting that the French Constitutional Council have declared the big WWW to be a basic human right for every human being. That's right: as basic as our access to fresh drinking water.
Although many have long predicted the internet of becoming the next constitutional battleground, this move towards recatogorising internet access as a human necessity, rather than a human luxury is a new turning point in the way we look at our computer screens.
A recent article of frequent flyers in the US, found more travellers would prefer good wireless internet at the airport than actual food. Although that's hardly surprisingly given the nature of airport travel, the greater issue still divides the haves and the haves not of the web.
The French three-strikes piracy model reminds us of the power governments wield over their voters. If we disconnect citizens from the virtual world, are we disadvantaging them in the real one? As it stands now, the digital realm may be just as important as the one that exists outside of it.
For more information on the three strikes law, the Times have the details.
