Internet Group Demands End to Government P2P Propaganda

Written by enigmax on December 31, 2008 

In November, the Spanish government launched a media campaign which heavily criticized file-sharers. Now, Spain’s Association of Internet Users has issued a complaint, claiming the content “recklessly offers information that lacks all legal basis, with the exclusive aim of re-educating public opinion.” Sounds familiar.

SpainSpain has hit the headlines a number of times in 2008 as it deals with the file-sharing phenomenon. Notably, following a Spanish case concerning telecoms company Telefonica, on 29 January 2008, the European Court Justice held (.pdf) that community law does not require member states to oblige ISPs to disclose details of suspected file-sharers to enable a copyright owner to bring civil proceedings. This was an important decision, one that is yet to be tested elsewhere in Europe.

Anti-piracy lobby groups are always keen to paint file-sharing as a very serious offense, and have had some successes in this respect. Despite the fact that in 2006 a Spanish judge ruled that a man who shared copyright music didn’t break the law because he made no money, and another ruled a BitTorrent tracker legal on the same basis, the anti-piracy lobby presses on.

In November, the Spanish government launched a TV, radio and print media campaign called “Si eres legal, eres legal” (If you are legal, you’re legal) which strongly criticized citizens who used the Internet to download copyright works. This campaign has annoyed many people and groups, and the opposition isn’t staying silent.

Recently a group of Spanish free-culture supporters demanded the withdrawal of the campaign and a public apology from the government. In protest, they arranged a demonstration on the doorstep of one of the leading political parties in Spain. After notifying the police, the groups – Compartir es Bueno (Sharing is good) and Hacktivistas (Hacktivists) – sat in front of the socialist party headquarters and shared copyright material. The police did nothing, suggesting a de facto acceptance of their actions.

Now, according to a report, it is the turn of Spain’s Madrid-based Association of Internet Users to make a formal complaint to the government.

An official statement from the group claims that the campaign “recklessly offers information that lacks all legal basis, with the exclusive aim of re-educating public opinion.”

Writing to Culture Minister César Antonio de Molina, the Association of Internet Users said the campaign must cease, since it risks “the manipulation of public opinion to the benefit of private interests,” i.e, come down on the public in order to serve the recording industry.

The association asserts that the campaign “includes information that is untrue, and therefore is contrary to the constitutional principle of freedom of information, with regards to intellectual property and the protection of authors’ rights, according to current legislation.”

Previously: Record Label Teams Up With What.cd BitTorrent Tracker

Next: Top 10 Most Pirated TV Shows on BitTorrent

23 Responses

1 Dec 31, 2008 at 05:30 by Roze

This should happen in the United States. In public schools across the nation, people are being brainwashed with MAFIAA propaganda. These MAFIAA Nazis must be put to a stop as soon as possible.

2 Dec 31, 2008 at 01:25 by NubCakes

"The police did nothing, suggesting a de facto acceptance of their actions."

Er… or maybe it was because it's leagal to do so and hence their was no action to be taken.

3 Dec 31, 2008 at 01:26 by NubCakes

"The police did nothing, suggesting a de facto acceptance of their actions."

Er… or maybe it was because it's le
gal to do so and hence their was no action to be taken.

4 Dec 31, 2008 at 01:27 by NubCakes

"The police did nothing, suggesting a de facto acceptance of their actions."

Er… or maybe it was because it's legal to do so and hence there was no action to be taken.

5 Dec 31, 2008 at 02:04 by Ricky_Bobbby

Yeah! Go Spain! Now what about the rest of Europe?
Three strikes? Nay!

6 Dec 31, 2008 at 02:24 by Game torrent

Spain rules.We need more action!

7 Dec 31, 2008 at 04:05 by baka pinkuu

Yeah… this is the worst government idea for an ad campaign since the WA State Lottery put up billboards saying "Prove your wife's boyfriend wrong. Everyone can be a winner."

8 Dec 31, 2008 at 04:29 by Roze

You should know that there is always a disparity between the de facto enforcement of laws and the de juro legal code itself.

9 Dec 31, 2008 at 04:31 by Roze

You should know that there is always a disparity between the de facto enforcement of laws and the de juro legal code itself. Legal action (or the absence thereof) is always based on the de facto enforcement situation.

10 Dec 31, 2008 at 04:32 by Roze

Indeed. The definition of fair use needs to be extended to include all non-commercial usage.

11 Dec 31, 2008 at 04:37 by EZEE

Yep! unfortunately it looks like only Spain has the nuts to do so, the rest of Europe seems to have been castrated… except for France: (the govt that is, not the people) they willingly sold their testicles to the industry even before the industry made a formal offer.

Its fantastic to see groups actually fighting like this and making news, in a total non violent way.

Just a matter of time… this is getting bigger and bigger really fast, and to think it started so small.. as just an idea.

Their ass is grass…. and we are the lawnmowers!

Cheers!
www,eZee.se

12 Dec 31, 2008 at 05:09 by Roze

I think that, in particular, there needs to be a new internet group formed for this purpose.

13 Dec 31, 2008 at 10:56 by Flagg

Nice to see someone is willing to stand up to the mafiaa and their various eurpoean cronies

14 Dec 31, 2008 at 11:11 by yuriythebest

wohooo! go spain!

15 Dec 31, 2008 at 11:18 by Staysure

People will always pay for quality software/movies.

16 Dec 31, 2008 at 11:27 by César

And there's the counter-campaign, "Si eres legal, comparte" (If you're legal, share) at siereslegalcomparte.com !

17 Dec 31, 2008 at 12:23 by Anonimo

"Spanish judge ruled that a man who shared copyright music didn’t break the law because he made no money"

That's the point, if you don't make money, you can share copyrighted stuff, according spanish law.

Puta SGAE

18 Jan 01, 2009 at 04:57 by Roze

You know, sometimes, the police do take action even when they have no grounds. It has been known to happen in the southern region of the United States during the civil rights movement.

Whether or not the police take action does not strictly depend on whether they have the grounds to do so or not. The fact that the police did nothing is more of a testament of the de facto situation rather than the de juro situation.

19 Jan 01, 2009 at 05:17 by NubCakes

Huh? Your correct, but all I'm saying is that if these people are not committing an offense the police have no grounds for taking action against them.

20 Jan 05, 2009 at 09:32 by Hwil Roze

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21 Jan 05, 2009 at 09:33 by Heil Roze

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22 Jan 05, 2009 at 09:34 by Heil Roze

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