16.8.2006
Hardline Justice Minister softening up
TV4.se reports how hardline Justice Minister Thomas Bodström - the main government proponent for stricter copyright laws and for the active harassment of filesharers - seems to be softening up. He has admitted what everybody already knows: that the new stricter copyright law has proven totally ineffective if not irrelevant to the Swedish filesharers. They keep sharing files whatever the law says.
Following Pirate Party -promoted launching of Relakks, a p2p-friendly anonymous proxy service, Bodström has come out with a press release where he calls for an evaluation of the new law. He also wants to hurry up the development of consumer-friendly legal alternatives to the highly popular pirate sources. Cecilia Renfors, the Director of the Swedish Broadcasting Commission, has been called as a 'neutral' party to study how the new law should be changed and how the 'legal alternatives' could be developed more rapidly. She has been given time to next May to come up with propositions.
Bodström thinks that there has been a positive development regarding the 'legal availability' of music and movies on Internet but things should move forward faster. "Both copyright owners and consumers should benefit from more and better legal alternatives becoming available", writes Bodström in his press release.