Swedish Officials Complained To US That Hollywood-Pushed IPRED 'Anti-Piracy' Law Did More Harm Than Good

from the nicely-done,-us dept

Mon, Dec 27th 2010 6:18am — Mike Masnick

Back in May, we had reported that Swedish police were complaining about the IPRED "anti-piracy" law, noting that all it had really done was driven up the use of encryption, which had made their job more difficult. Separate from that, of course, have been numerous studies showing that the amount of file sharing in Sweden, after an initial dip, quickly surpassed what it had been before and continued to rise. Of course, this was all pretty predictable before IPRED went into effect, but thanks to Wikileaks, not only do we know that the US was heavily involved in pushing efforts like IPRED through, but that Swedish officials made these concerns known to the US, and it appears that the US didn't really care. The specific cable highlighted the concerns of Swedish officials:

Swedish Police Enforcement officials are complaining that implementation of the IPRED has made it more difficult to solve crimes. Swedish Internet Service Providers are saving user information related to IP-numbers for a shorter period of time following the IPRED legislation.

Also, as previously reported (Ref A) the IPRED legislation might be doing little to stop the problem of illegal file-sharing as internet users now are using services which allow them to hide their IP-addresses.

That same cable, by the way, also mentions how Larry Lessig spoke to the Swedish Parliament, and also reported on the latest (at the time) of the Pirate Bay trial.

Separately, I just realized that the cable comes from the US Ambassador to Sweden, Matthew Barzun, who actually probably has a decent grasp on many of these issues, as before he became a diplomat, he worked for many years as an executive at CNET. That said, it's still somewhat disappointing that the US did seem so instrumental in pushing these laws, that even the Swedes don't seem to like, which aren't helping, and are having other unintended consequences. What's really troubling is that the US still seems to support these types of laws elsewhere, even though they're likely to have the same results. Is keeping Hollywood happy really so important?

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Filed Under: copyright, encryption, hollywood, ipred, law enforcement, sweden

27 Comments

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yogi, 27 Dec 2010 @ 6:36am

Yes
" Is keeping Hollywood happy really so important? "

well, if your livelihood depends upon it then the answer is yes, of course.
Apparently there are many congressmen and other hired lackeys in government who believe that their current, or at least future income, depends upon Hollywood approval, and they are doing their best to ensure they get it, the consequences for the rest of the country or the world be damned.
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Anonymous Coward, 27 Dec 2010 @ 6:47am

Isn't it amazing that the cables that get leaked are now specifically designed to embarrass the Swedish government? If this was so relevant, why wasn't it released before? Oh wait, Assange wasn't risking going to jail for a long time.
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abc gum, 27 Dec 2010 @ 6:59am

Re:
What?
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The Infamous Joe (profile), 27 Dec 2010 @ 7:06am

Re:
Mr Coward, what you've just said is one of the most insanely idiotic things I have ever heard. At no point in your rambling, incoherent response were you even close to anything that could be considered a rational thought. Everyone in this room is now dumber for having listened to it. I award you no points, and may God have mercy on your soul.
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Anonymous Coward, 27 Dec 2010 @ 7:10am

Re: Re:
Think for a second. If Sweden had dropped the charges against Assange, do you think this cable would be released?

It's a smear campaign against the Swedish government. The Guardian is the official media outlet for Wikileaks, and the timing could not be better for Assange.
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Dark Helmet (profile), 27 Dec 2010 @ 7:26am

Re: Re:
Okay, I think a simple wrong would have done just fine, but whatever....
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The Groove Tiger (profile), 27 Dec 2010 @ 7:30am

Re: Re:
Could have been worse... he could have had to explain...

Business Ethics!
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Dark Helmet (profile), 27 Dec 2010 @ 7:36am

Re: Re: Re:
"Think for a second. If Sweden had dropped the charges against Assange, do you think this cable would be released?"

Er...yes? What have you seen from Assange that would suggest that he WOULDN'T have released a secret cable if that had been the case?

"It's a smear campaign against the Swedish government."

Hmm, it's more embarrassing for the US than Sweeden, isn't it? Kind of portrays the Sweedish government as victims of the big bad US empire, should such a thing exist....

"The Guardian is the official media outlet for Wikileaks, and the timing could not be better for Assange."

I...don't see how this is beneficial for Assange's personal situation at all. Maybe you can explain?
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The Infamous Joe (profile), 27 Dec 2010 @ 7:41am

Re: Re: Re:
Here's the skinny, skippy: This cable only embarrasses the united states. They almost all do. So, take off that tin-foil hat, my nervous friend, and relax.

..soylent green is people. On a horse.
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The Infamous Joe (profile), 27 Dec 2010 @ 7:42am

Re: Re: Re:
I was hoping the AC would have responded with this, but in his/her absence, this will work.

Thanks pal.
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Anonymous Coward, 27 Dec 2010 @ 8:05am

Re: Re: Re:
> Think for a second. If Sweden had dropped the charges against Assange, do you think this cable would be released?

Yes, absolutely. First of all, all sorts of cables keep coming out, and this one is embarrassing to the US, not Sweden.

> It's a smear campaign against the Swedish government. The Guardian is the official media outlet for Wikileaks, and the timing could not be better for Assange.

The Guardian is also the only paper that published the full detailed allegations against Assange that show the charges really are about rape, and not about "sex with a broken condom," leading Assange to (somewhat ironically) complain about The Guardian for publishing such a "smear campaign."

Sorry, but if you knew anything about what was going on, you'd know this wasn't true.
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Anonymous Coward, 27 Dec 2010 @ 8:20am

Question: Is keeping Hollywood happy really so important?
Answer: Yes, as long as they have the money for those "campaign contributions".

Also, Mike, the RSS feed still needs fixing. The pound symbol in one article is the problem.
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Anonymous Coward, 27 Dec 2010 @ 8:21am

Re: Re: Re: Re:
The Guardian is the only site to go to for Wikileaks coverage. They have an inside edge. Assange has given them way more time, connections, and personal interviews. They are always "first" with the new leak, which suggests they are getting fed the information ahead of time.

Assange pretty much gripes about anyone who says anything bad about him (tabloid schmucks, anyone?), but he always ends up going back to those same media organization to continue to build up the Cult of Assange.

After all, without them, he wouldn't have a 7 figure book deal. None of the other Wikileaks people do.
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Anonymous Coward, 27 Dec 2010 @ 8:39am

Re: Re: Re:
Except this is not the first cable of this nature to be released.

Assange will need to face his charges no matter what, and for him to offer to suppress cables in exchange for making it all go away would be anathema to his soul.

They are playing up the angle that he is a bad bad man. Sadly these are just "charges" not convictions. But people want to parade the charges around to prove how horrible a person he is. This effort to spin these charges is to distract attention from little things, like the US taxpayers paying nearly 2 billion a year to a company that has been caught multiple times pimping children. That the government has acted to cover up this pimping several times.

The cables are fact, and other than bluster and chest thumping the Government has not disproven a single one of them. They try to distract people with the idea people might die because of what he did, we will face more problems with our allies, and a grand farce ensues. Yet we are still paying a company that thinks its perfectly ok to pimp and sell children and our government still works to hide this pimping.

Assange might have done something to violate the law in Sweden with these women, I dunno Swedish law enough to debate it. One is left to wonder how the case went from active to dismissed to active and being leaked in the papers as these cables came to light. Maybe a government somewhere exerted more pressure to get their way.
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Anonymous Coward, 27 Dec 2010 @ 10:01am

Re:
Best inaccurate troll derp ever.
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Rekrul, 27 Dec 2010 @ 3:31pm

Is keeping Hollywood happy really so important?

Of course! Don't you know by now that the whole world revolves around the entertainment industry?
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Anonymous Coward, 27 Dec 2010 @ 4:00pm

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re:
Wikileaks went to FIVE newspapers so that the cables would have life-threatening information redacted.

That's right - FIVE news organizations already have the cables before they're publicly released.

Any other conspiracy theories I can debunk?
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Anonymous Coward, 27 Dec 2010 @ 5:35pm

the swedes had assange in custody at one point in time. then the prosecutor decided there wasn't enough evidence and RELEASED him. SHORTLY after the cable leaks started comming out the prosecutor changed her mind and issued a warrant for his arrest. SEEMS TO ME THE SWEDISH GOVERMENT BOWED TO U.S. PRESSURE AGAIN!
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Anonymous Coward, 27 Dec 2010 @ 6:50pm

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re:
They went to five, and four of them don't run multiple daily stories in support of Wikileaks, they don't subscribe to the cult of Assange, and they certainly don't seem ready to suck up to them and be their unofficial news source.

The Guardian, on the other hand, appears to be on the payroll most days.
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Anonymous Coward, 27 Dec 2010 @ 6:52pm

Re: Re: Re: Re:
Simple rule: no means no, and a passed out / sleeping girl is not in a position to give consent. It would appear that Assange broke this simple rule (and apparently did so while not wearing a condom, and then refused to get an AIDS test).

The point isn't innocent of guilty, rather that the cable wasn't released before he got locked up in the UK, but after. Releasing it now stinks of vengeful actions, similar to his encrypted file he is distributing. "screw with me, and I will screw with you".

Assange is not a very nice man.
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Anonymous Coward, 27 Dec 2010 @ 9:29pm

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re:
Your desperation is quite amusing. Please continue.
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techflaws.org (profile), 27 Dec 2010 @ 10:04pm

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re:
So you read the german magazine "Der Spiegel" and know how frequently (and positively?) they write about Assange. Give us some details.
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techflaws.org (profile), 27 Dec 2010 @ 10:05pm

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re:
Citation needed.
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The eejit (profile), 28 Dec 2010 @ 3:20am

Re:
There's a cable for that somewhere. It seems to have been misplaced by the US DoJ, oddly.
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herbert, 28 Dec 2010 @ 3:44pm

the USA should get it's own house in order and leave other countries to sort out their own. threatening sanctions is hardly the way to instill respect. and as for TPB, what a complete fiasco! sooner or later, Swedish politicians will regret grabbing their ankles for the US government and all because the 'industries' insist people buy round pieces of plastic! adapt, morons, and continue to prosper! dont adapt and fail!
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Hephaestus (profile), 28 Dec 2010 @ 4:21pm

Re: Re: Re: Re:
"Hmm, it's more embarrassing for the US than Sweeden, isn't it? Kind of portrays the Sweedish government as victims of the big bad US empire, should such a thing exist...."

A couple things ...

stop ... using ... all ... the ... multiple ... periods ... thats ... my ... thing ... ;) ;) ;)

We seem to have entered the first stages of being an empire and-or a police state. Govenment protecting money and not people. Its not us thats causing these problems its "(insert your favorite racial type or bad guy here)" that are the reason you are poor, stupid, and cant feed your family. Blatant disrespect for the agreed upon laws of society by the PTB (powers that be).
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johnson, 29 Dec 2010 @ 1:54am

so what stupid law will they try to introduce next, that will infringe on civil liberty, freedom of speech etc? what other internet companies will suffer because the entertainment industries and their lackeys cant and wont shape up to the 'digital age'? what has happened so far has caused more problems than have been corrected. France is in the same boat as Sweden and others will soon be following.
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