At yesterday’s Congressional hearing in Van Nuys about illegal movie downloading, Steven Soderbergh reportedly suggested that the U.S. should adopt a not-yet-passed French law project (nicknamed DADOPI) that would cut off an offender’s internet service after three warnings. What’s wrong with that idea? It would certainly cut into piracy revenues.

Vanity Fair‘s Julian Sanction, who speaks French, doesn’t care for it. Earlier today he explained the particulars in a mocking way.

(1) “Individuals will be charged not for downloading illegal content, but rather for failing to properly secure their internet access. So even if some guy parks his car behind your house and poaches your service to download, say, the complete works of Jerry Lewis, you will be held responsible.”

(2) “Those charged with illegal downloading will be sent two e-mail warnings, followed by a third warning by registered letter.”

(3) “If offenders re-offend within one year of being warned, their Internet service can be cut off for a period of two months to a year, or one to three months if they promise not to do it again.”

(4) “Offenders whose Internet service is cut off would continue to pay their providers during the period of suspension.

(5) “The law will be retroactive, meaning there is to be no amnesty for people caught downloading content illegally before the law is passed.

(6) “To further discourage illegal downloading, lawmakers have proposed reducing the DVD window to four months rather than six.”