The European Parliament effectively scuttled a sweeping overhaul of the bloc's fragmented phone and Internet rules, opting instead to attach an amendment protecting the rights of bloggers accused of Internet piracy. Under European Union rules, the 11th-hour move kills any chance to approve the telecom package -- which would have become law if adopted Wednesday -- until at least late 2010. Lawmakers voted 407 to 57 to attach the amendment, which had quickly become a cause celebre on the Internet, in turn knocking down the plan that telecommunications companies had hoped would ease sales of their services across national borders. The telecom legislation, which was two years in the making, included laws giving customers the right to quickly change providers while keeping the same phone number. It also would have prevented Internet providers from slowing down rivals' Web sites, and established an EU-wide telecommunications regulator in Brussels. Big European phone and Internet companies supported the package, saying it would harmonize rules. Bloggers had lobbied for the amendment, which gives individuals accused of illegally downloading material the right to a hearing before authorities cut off their Web access. It was put forward in March by French parliamentarian Guy Bono, who said he wanted to "stand up for the rights of all Internet users." France is considering a law that would close the Internet account of anyone caught pirating music or movies.
