A confidential document prepared for HADOPI, the French government agency created to monitor copyright infringement activity using a so-called ‘three-strikes’ legislation against illegal file sharers, has been leaked by French magazine Numerama, after its ‘freedom of information’-style request to the agency was turned down.

The report (document relatif au Projet de spécifications fonctionnelles des moyens de sécurisation) spells out the operational specifications that should feature in the monitoring and security software to identify infringers. While classified “Confidential,” it is the draft of a document for public consultation that has been already distributed to various professional stake-holders, in particular developers of monitoring and security software to be certified by HADOPI.

The French agency calls for the provision of stand-alone software or software built in antivirus or parental control software. The system will have to inspect internet traffic and protocols in real time and block or warn users of suspected traffic that infringes copyright. The software is to be able to analyse a computer's configuration (P2P applications installed in the machine as well as use of unsecured wifi router).

Lastly, the monitoring activity – with the notable exception of the navigation's history, but including activation /deactivation or modification of any security profiles – will have to be logged and kept for one year. A section of the logging journal will be encrypted for use by HADOPI in case of a lawsuit.

Technical constraints imposed on developers also include the necessity for the software to have minimum impact on the performance of the computer, be easy to install and to use, be an open-source design and work on open-source operating systems. Furthermore, it must not be able to transfer data to third parties, except making available to the agency the decrypting key.

The document makes it plain that the HADOPI software is designed to be used for content filtering. The traffic is broken down in three categories: a black list of website banned by the courts, grey lists for suspected applications and keywords, and a white list of legal websites.

According to Numerama, the genuinely strategic, thus sensitive, section of the report – which may explain HADOPI’s anxiety to keep the document out of the public eyes – is the suggestion that, while the ADSL settop boxes currently in use are too small and their origins too heterogeneous to accommodate such additional monitoring software, future generations of ADSL boxes could include the specially-designed filtering software.

HADOPI is reported to start sending 10,000 emails and 3,000 registered letters out daily to people suspected of illegal downloading from September onwards.

A poll of 1058 respondents 15 year-old and over conducted at the beginning of July by Ifop on behalf of the music publisher’s organisation SNEP, reveals that 69% would stop illegal downloads if they were threatened by the disconnection of their Internet access together with a €1,500 fine. However, only 40% of the 15-24 respondents would stop downloading.

The risk of disconnection of Internet access would motivate 77% of respondents to monitor utilisation of their web connection by friends or third parties.

Amongst three proposals put to them as to the best way to fight illegal downloading, 41% of respondents said it would be the inability to access infringing sites. Thirty-one percent suggested an educational campaign together with warning letters would be the best solution. For 21% it would be the threat of a lawsuit.

The full report can be accessed via Numerama site.

Story filed 09.08.10