Last September, a study out of Australia found that "graduated response" (aka "three strikes") anti-piracy systems do little to nothing to actually combat piracy, effectively meaning the industry's ever-escalating game of whac-a-mole doesn't actually accomplish much of anything -- except for raising the price of broadband services as ISPs pass on the costs of being forced into the role of Internet content nanny.

Now a new paper by French and U.S. researchers effectively comes to the same conclusion, noting that such three strikes efforts do absolutely nothing to stop piracy. France in particular, where such penalties (temporarily including possible Internet disconnection) have been highest, saw no substantive benefit:

Based on a large survey among 2,000 French Internet users, the study finds that the local three strikes law didn’t stop or even reduce piracy. "Consistent with theoretical predictions, our econometric results indicate that the Hadopi law has not deterred individuals from engaging in digital piracy and that it did not reduce the intensity of illegal activity of those who did engage in piracy,” the researchers write in their paper.

This will of course mean that instead of realizing the futility of such efforts and just focusing on offering quality, inexpensive content platforms, the entertainment industry will likely push for even greater restrictions on online content and services. What's next? A ban on VPNs and proxies? Steep fines for repeat offenders? Mandatory re-education classes for those who pirate the Led Zeppelin discography?