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The French Senate is considering a revised version of an Internet piracy law that was ruled unconstitutional last month, despite backing by President Nicolas Sarkozy.

Nicolas Sarkozy

The original law was set up as a three-strikes system for copyright violators, who would first receive an email warning, then a letter and finally lose their Internet access if they were caught a third time.

The Constitutional Court ruled that "free access to public communication services online" was a human right, and only a judge should have the power to deny a user access to the Internet.

The revised bill now has a provision that would allow a judge to decide if Internet access should be cut off from users. On the third strike a judge would either impose an Internet ban, a fine of up to $415,000 or a two-year jail sentence, under a fast-track ruling system.

Account holders found guilty of "negligence" for allowing a third party to pirate music or movies using their Internet connection, would face a $2,081 fine and a month-long suspension of service.

The original legislation was one of the toughest ever crafted against online piracy around the world. Supporters of the bill hoped it would encourage Internet users to visit legal download sites.

Critics warned the law could unfairly punish users if hackers used their accounts to download illegal files.