Regional Regulation
Norway and Iceland are the only Nordic countries that are not members of the EU.
However, they do form a part of the European Economic Area (EEA) and have officially
agreed to enact legislation similar to that passed in the EU in areas such as consumer
protection and business law. As a result, laws are integrated in Norway 4 and Iceland 5
differently than in Sweden, Denmark, and Finland. 6
Directives passed by the EU Commission and the European Parliament form a framework for lawmakers in the 27 member states to implement their own national laws
before a certain deadline. Countries may decide to pass tougher laws than required by
a directive. A key to understanding the heated European struggle surrounding intellectual property is an antipiracy directive called the International Property Rights Enforcement Directive (IPRED) 7 . This directive gives rights holders wide-ranging freedoms to
investigate the identities of suspected file sharers and to obtain court orders to force
ISPs to share personal information about customers suspected of digital piracy. The
IPRED was introduced in 2004 and was repeatedly revised over the following years after
complaints that its criminal-sanctions provisions were too wide ranging. An amended
proposal (IPRED2) that may reintroduce some criminal sanctions was still being
debated in 2009. 8 However, the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) being
secretly negotiated 9 between the EU, the United States, and other countries seems to
have taken over momentum from IPRED2. 10
Sweden became the first EU country to put IPRED into effect on April 1, 2009. The
BBC reported that Internet traffic in Sweden fell by 33 percent when the law was
passed. 11 To protect the privacy of their customers following the implementation of
IPRED, Swedish ISPs threatened to erase all their IP-number data. 12 Broadband operator
AllTele offered their customers ‘‘dis-identification’’ services to hide file sharers from
investigators. 13 Another ISP, ePhone, refused to hand over any data to the courts. 14
In early 2009, such actions were not against Swedish law, 15 but they may be when
another EU data-retention (logging) directive 16 is implemented. Swedish lawmakers
are working on a proposal for a law that would force ISPs to store data for at least six
months. 17
File sharing is extremely common in Nordic countries. The Swedish newspaper
Svenska Dagbladet reported that 79 percent of Swedish males aged 15 to 29 are against
the IPRED law. 18 Open wireless local area networks (WLANs) have become an issue
under IPRED, as innocent subscribers may be liable for illegal downloads by others.
An IPRED-resistance movement started in Sweden encouraging people to open their
networks and rename them Ipredia to mask actions by individuals. 19
326
Nordic Countries
Norway and Iceland are the only Nordic countries that are not members of the EU.
However, they do form a part of the European Economic Area (EEA) and have officially
agreed to enact legislation similar to that passed in the EU in areas such as consumer
protection and business law. As a result, laws are integrated in Norway 4 and Iceland 5
differently than in Sweden, Denmark, and Finland. 6
Directives passed by the EU Commission and the European Parliament form a framework for lawmakers in the 27 member states to implement their own national laws
before a certain deadline. Countries may decide to pass tougher laws than required by
a directive. A key to understanding the heated European struggle surrounding intellectual property is an antipiracy directive called the International Property Rights Enforcement Directive (IPRED) 7 . This directive gives rights holders wide-ranging freedoms to
investigate the identities of suspected file sharers and to obtain court orders to force
ISPs to share personal information about customers suspected of digital piracy. The
IPRED was introduced in 2004 and was repeatedly revised over the following years after
complaints that its criminal-sanctions provisions were too wide ranging. An amended
proposal (IPRED2) that may reintroduce some criminal sanctions was still being
debated in 2009. 8 However, the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) being
secretly negotiated 9 between the EU, the United States, and other countries seems to
have taken over momentum from IPRED2. 10
Sweden became the first EU country to put IPRED into effect on April 1, 2009. The
BBC reported that Internet traffic in Sweden fell by 33 percent when the law was
passed. 11 To protect the privacy of their customers following the implementation of
IPRED, Swedish ISPs threatened to erase all their IP-number data. 12 Broadband operator
AllTele offered their customers ‘‘dis-identification’’ services to hide file sharers from
investigators. 13 Another ISP, ePhone, refused to hand over any data to the courts. 14
In early 2009, such actions were not against Swedish law, 15 but they may be when
another EU data-retention (logging) directive 16 is implemented. Swedish lawmakers
are working on a proposal for a law that would force ISPs to store data for at least six
months. 17
File sharing is extremely common in Nordic countries. The Swedish newspaper
Svenska Dagbladet reported that 79 percent of Swedish males aged 15 to 29 are against
the IPRED law. 18 Open wireless local area networks (WLANs) have become an issue
under IPRED, as innocent subscribers may be liable for illegal downloads by others.
An IPRED-resistance movement started in Sweden encouraging people to open their
networks and rename them Ipredia to mask actions by individuals. 19
326
Nordic Countries