Illegal file sharers seem to be running scared in Sweden after the enactment of a new tough anti-piracy law last week that streamlines the process of prosecuting for copyright infringement, based on computer IP addresses.
The new law, considered by many to be the toughest anti-piracy regulation in the world, is in many ways a reaction to the shocking number of illegal file sharing and MP3 download sites based out of Sweden. The famous “Pirate Bay” court case demonstrated how widespread illegal MP3 and software sharing is in the Nordic countries.
Previously, Internet users in Sweden enjoyed a high degree of anonymity because of the country’s jealously protected privacy laws. However, online privacy is now very much a thing of the past in Sweden, as the courts have made it easier for record companies and software manufacturers to directly log the IP address of suspected illegal downloaders, and present this information directly to the courts.
The law goes further than any other European country at this time, though France is also enacting tough new anti-piracy legislation that may end up rivaling the stringent Swedish law. There have also been attempts to create a federal law covering the entire European Union. So far though, countries have been divided on how far they think the law should go, and there’s presently a great deal of opposition to any all-Europe policy toward handling online piracy.
But back in Sweden, the tough new law is having an effect already. Web analysts in the country have noticed that online traffic has plummeted since the law went into effect last week. Specifically, Web traffic is Sweden has dropped to about 50% of its previous level, suggesting that up to half of all Swedish web traffic in the past was involved in illegal downloading.
Because Sweden and the other Nordic countries have very advanced high-speed Internet networks, and some of the fastest mobile Internet networks in the world, they became a perfect breeding ground for a legal downloading of ripped DVDs, “cracked” software, and of course, MP3s. But now that Swedish web surfers understand how easily they can be caught and prosecuted for illegal downloading, the tide seems to have turned in favor of the record companies and software manufacturers.
While the entertainment companies are cheering the new tough law in Sweden, not everyone is pleased: privacy advocates say the new law strips individuals of a basic right to surf the Web anonymously. No doubt the law will be challenged at some point to determine if it indeed goes too far in protecting the rights of copyright holders — but not the privacy rights of individual citizens.
