Seven Members of the Swedish Parliament write magazine article noting how attempts to crack down on P2P are similar to past efforts against VCRs and MP3 players.
Karl Sigfrid and 6 other Members of Parliament wrote to a Swedish publication called Expressen last week voicing their objections to a plan by government-appointed copyright analyst Cecilia Renfors to ban file-sharers from the Internet.
In the article they point out several important observations that describe how the proposal is not only untenable, but that also illustrate how it’s nothing more than a huge giveaway to the copyright industry at the expense of individual freedoms and technological innovation.
"If you can use a service to send a message you can most likely use the same service to send an mp3-song," it reads. "Those who want to prevent people from exchanging of copyrighted material must control all electronic communication between citizens."
The European Convention on Human Rights mandates that the integrity of PRIVATE correspondence between individuals be protected and that it can’t be subject to inspection without proper legal authority – i.e. due process. Any proposal to circumvent this protection and have ISPs regularly monitor what each individual discusses or what type of data he shares with others goes completely against this convention.
"The Competition Authority adds that it’s unreasonable to give private businesses responsibilities that should belong to a government agency," the article continues. "The decisions to ban subscribers from the Internet would be arbitrary without a proper legal process."
The copyright lobby would love to filter all the communications between individuals but that summarizes what’s so very wrong about it all. Corporate interests shouldn’t be allowed to trump individual freedoms and technological innovation simply because of an either perceived or actual loss of revenue.
"Politicians who play for the antipiracy team should be aware that they have allied themselves with a special interest that is never satisfied and that will always demand that we take additional steps toward the ultimate control state," it continues.
The copyright industry should be required to do as all others have to and that is to embrace file-sharing and move forward. The rest of society shouldn’t be asked to stand still and keep progress at bay simply because an industry refuses to move forward. If we had listened to them in the past we probably wouldn’t have VCRs, DVDs, or MP3 players.
"We politicians have to make clear that we are not prepared to build the technology-hostile control state that would be necessary to satisfy the Antipiracy Bureau and their likes," reads the article.
The best part of the article notes how Sweden could truly blossom as a hub for information routinely censored elsewhere in the world, whereby "As part of a global network, we can offer Internet users all over the world the freedom of information that they are denied in their home countries."
How’s that for forward thinking? Think about it for a moment. What better way for a nation to take advantage of and prosper in an increasingly networked world than to remove these artificial barriers created by the copyright lobby?
The bottom line in all of this is that unless a society is willing to filter each and every communication between private individuals than it has no choice but to legalize file-sharing.
Now if only some "Members of Congress" would draw the same conclusion.
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News Tip? Comment? Suggestion? jared@zeropaid.com
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Go Sweden!!
Woo!
If the shiet hits the fan to the point where they’re jailing people in NA I know exactly where I’m moving to I may not speak natively but hell I’d give it the best damn try I can best of all my occupation allows me to work anywhere in the world for anyone in the world.
I loves the intahrwebs
Sweden has always been at the forefront of modern thinking. Beautiful country modern advanced and prospering.
Lesson to learn for other nations. I was ther about 10 years ago the people are so open and free. Sad how the rest of the world continue to stomp on their citizens.
efterrätt ljuv söt karamell