Keeping up with the pirates

An ideological war is being waged between those who believe in a free information society and supporters of Internet regulation. Some argue for a free flow of media and information over the Internet, without state interference or corporate control. Others have argued against illegal file sharing for years as copyright holders suffer violations of their rights and significant financial loss—95% of music downloads are unauthorised, with no payment to artists and producers.

Global entertainment giants recently claimed what is being hailed as a major victory. In a case brought in Stockholm last month by Warner Bros, Fox Movies, Sony Music and EMI, four founders of the Pirate Bay, a filesharing website, were jailed for a year and ordered to damages of £2.4m. Their crime was helping internet users download protected music, movies and computer games. The entertainment industry has welcomed the “landmark decision”, however, even as they were convicted, millions of Internet users were busy downloading