Finnish Websites Go Dark to Support a Fair Copyright Law

finlandSince last year the Finnish public had the option to suggest what laws they want to live under.

A recent modification of the national Constitution allows for citizens to make legislative proposals for the Parliament to vote on, providing it gets 50,000 supporters within 6 months.

One of the proposals that has submitted since calls for a fairer copyright law.

Termed ‘To Make Sense of the Copyright Act’, the proposal wants to reduce penalties for copyright infringement, increase fair use, and ease the ability for people to make copies of items they already own (for format shifting, or backups).

During the first three months little over 27,000 people have supported the initiative, and to get more people to sign up several websites are participating in a SOPA-style Internet blackout today.

“The idea is to follow the model that was in use in the US where companies take part in campaigning when there is an injustice. So the blackout day is a chance for Finnish companies to speak out against this far-reaching copyright law,” Joonas Pekkanen of the Open Ministry said in a comment.

Among the participating websites are Afterdawn, FinDance and ja Ylilauta and many others. Finnish citizens can support the proposal here.

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