TorrentFreak

The Spanish House of Representatives has rejected new legislation under which hundreds of file-sharing sites that are currently perfectly legal, could have been shut down. The rejection is a major victory for the tens of thousands of Internet users who launched many protests in recent months. Conversely, the news will come as a disappointment to proponents of the legislation, including the entertainment industries and the U.S. Government.

While the Spanish Government tries to ram through legislation that will enable the authorities to shut down file-sharing sites more rapidly, employees of the ministry responsible have been exposed as pirates. Fresh data shows that at nearly all ministries, staff have been downloading copyrighted material.

In an advisory report two economy professors are urging a government to rethink new anti-piracy legislation currently being drafted. The professors argue that harsher anti-piracy measures will only benefit the large media companies and prominent artists, at the expense of users and upcoming artists.

The Spanish cabinet has today passed legislation that will enable the authorities to shut down file-sharing sites more rapidly. The new legislation gives in to the demands of the US and local copyright lobby, who see Spain’s lenient copyright law as a thorn in their side.

The Spanish Government is working on new legislation under which hundreds of file-sharing sites that are currently perfectly legal, could be shut off. In a response to these plans, a group of hacktivists have launched a clever campaign to prove that the proposal is useless, and that the Government might as well close down the whole Internet.

While there is less will to penalize file-sharers in Spain, the same cannot be said about the sites that facilitate their downloading. Under current law, file-sharing sites of all types have flourished in recent years, but new legislation being mulled could close loopholes and allow them to be disconnected, without the need for a court order.

BitTorrent sites are continuing to frustrate anti-piracy groups in Spain. They are not illegal under current law, but with a 3 strikes-style regime ruled out in the country, the entertainment industry feels it has no choice but to go after them. They are now placing their bets on thawing US relations and a subsequent change in the law.