Filesharing Takes A Seat In European Parliament
Sweden's PiratePartiet (Pirate Party) has secured a win for the European Parliament in yesterday's Swedish European Parliament Elections, becoming - at least in this election - Sweden's 4th biggest party.
According to official sources, the Pirate Party secured 7.1% of votes and elected to the European Parliament Christian Engstrom to voice the concerns of filesharers and throughout Europe. Thanks to the Swedish authority's enforcement of a court mandate and shutting down the Pirate Bay, the attempt at restricting the activity of filesharing has backfired and provided a soapbox of sorts for the Party.
The Pirate Party's arguments are towards the "reform of copyright law", by making non-commercial use free to users and limit the commercial life of copyrighted material and pharmaceutical patents in particular. A general ban on DRM technologies and any contract clause that limits the user's rights are also on the Pirate agenda. The fact that Swedish youths have enjoyed next-gen internet connections and are brought up in a very
This is one of those things that could only originate in Europe. While the rest of the world is finding ways to implement and enforce data and copyright protection, the Swedes are up in arms trying to give copyrights a deadline.
According to official sources, the Pirate Party secured 7.1% of votes and elected to the European Parliament Christian Engstrom to voice the concerns of filesharers and throughout Europe. Thanks to the Swedish authority's enforcement of a court mandate and shutting down the Pirate Bay, the attempt at restricting the activity of filesharing has backfired and provided a soapbox of sorts for the Party.
The Pirate Party's arguments are towards the "reform of copyright law", by making non-commercial use free to users and limit the commercial life of copyrighted material and pharmaceutical patents in particular. A general ban on DRM technologies and any contract clause that limits the user's rights are also on the Pirate agenda. The fact that Swedish youths have enjoyed next-gen internet connections and are brought up in a very
This is one of those things that could only originate in Europe. While the rest of the world is finding ways to implement and enforce data and copyright protection, the Swedes are up in arms trying to give copyrights a deadline.
Just last month, France proposed to implement a three-strikes policy for users caught file-sharing. The EU Comission deemed that it restricted civil liberties and freedom of speech, throwing out the proposal. France, in their very own way, ignored the European Comission's decision and went ahead, giving authorities sweeping powers to enforce control over filesharing, including within ISPs.
Unsurprisingly, Pirate Parties are popping up left right and centre across the world while French Pirates (historically, some of the most successful ones) are getting organised.
