a court. 68 In May 2009, the European Parliament went through a new vote on details
in a revision of the telecom rules directive. 69 Stemming from a Europewide mass mobilization, the European Parliament, with a large majority, essentially declared Internet
access to be a fundamental right in the EU. 70 At the time of writing, conciliation between the European Parliament and the Commission was in progress. Nonetheless, six
days later the French National Assembly passed the controversial law limiting these
rights, and the following day the French Senate voted and confirmed the HADOPI law. 71
In April 2008, the Danish parliament’s Council on Technology published a report on
IT security that said Danish Internet users seem to prefer the government having direct
access to their computers in order to control and update their personal software prior
to allowing them onto public Web sites. 72 The report stated that users wanted public
censorship of undesirable Web sites (e.g., those known for phishing) and preferred government security classification of selected software (like Web browsers). According to
the report, there also seemed to be public demand for the introduction of hardwarebased ‘‘digital identities,’’ somewhat different from the prevailing secure ‘‘digital signatures.’’ At the same time, fear of surveillance and registration of individual activities
online was strong. The people surveyed also preferred that ISPs filter e-mail automatically rather than having the current opt-in solution.
The independent Danish IT-Political Association argued strongly against this vision
of centralized control online. An extremely successful initiative of the association has
been Polippix, 73 a Linux-based privacy protection software, distributed widely on CD
and online. The Danish IT-Political Association, like its sister organizations in other
Nordic countries, is a member of the European digital rights network EDRI, which
tracks EU and national attacks on privacy, introduction of surveillance, and limits on
Internet freedom. The work of EDRI is considered especially important because most
regulation regarding the Internet, copyright, and privacy originate from European
institutions or from international institutions with strong influence in Europe. However, the regulations do not prohibit individual countries from passing their own laws
in addition to European ones.
A Swedish public opinion poll 74 published on May 18, 2009, showed that 43 percent
of the population had no interest in the FRA-law, and among those who were interested, 34 percent were against and 23 percent in favor. The most critical sector of the
population belonged to the 15–29 age group. The least worried group was conservatives over 60. The issue of privacy for the online generation has gained significance as
a result of the FRA debate and the Pirate Bay file-sharing case. Indeed, a political party
by the name Piratpartiet, 75 the Pirate Party, founded in 2006, was Sweden’s third-largest party, with more than 48,000 members, 76 immediately before the June 7, 2009,
elections. At the time of writing, public opinion polls indicated that Piratpartiet would
win representation in the European Parliament and in the national parliament, Riksdagen, in the next general elections (expected in 2010).
Nordic Countries
333
in a revision of the telecom rules directive. 69 Stemming from a Europewide mass mobilization, the European Parliament, with a large majority, essentially declared Internet
access to be a fundamental right in the EU. 70 At the time of writing, conciliation between the European Parliament and the Commission was in progress. Nonetheless, six
days later the French National Assembly passed the controversial law limiting these
rights, and the following day the French Senate voted and confirmed the HADOPI law. 71
In April 2008, the Danish parliament’s Council on Technology published a report on
IT security that said Danish Internet users seem to prefer the government having direct
access to their computers in order to control and update their personal software prior
to allowing them onto public Web sites. 72 The report stated that users wanted public
censorship of undesirable Web sites (e.g., those known for phishing) and preferred government security classification of selected software (like Web browsers). According to
the report, there also seemed to be public demand for the introduction of hardwarebased ‘‘digital identities,’’ somewhat different from the prevailing secure ‘‘digital signatures.’’ At the same time, fear of surveillance and registration of individual activities
online was strong. The people surveyed also preferred that ISPs filter e-mail automatically rather than having the current opt-in solution.
The independent Danish IT-Political Association argued strongly against this vision
of centralized control online. An extremely successful initiative of the association has
been Polippix, 73 a Linux-based privacy protection software, distributed widely on CD
and online. The Danish IT-Political Association, like its sister organizations in other
Nordic countries, is a member of the European digital rights network EDRI, which
tracks EU and national attacks on privacy, introduction of surveillance, and limits on
Internet freedom. The work of EDRI is considered especially important because most
regulation regarding the Internet, copyright, and privacy originate from European
institutions or from international institutions with strong influence in Europe. However, the regulations do not prohibit individual countries from passing their own laws
in addition to European ones.
A Swedish public opinion poll 74 published on May 18, 2009, showed that 43 percent
of the population had no interest in the FRA-law, and among those who were interested, 34 percent were against and 23 percent in favor. The most critical sector of the
population belonged to the 15–29 age group. The least worried group was conservatives over 60. The issue of privacy for the online generation has gained significance as
a result of the FRA debate and the Pirate Bay file-sharing case. Indeed, a political party
by the name Piratpartiet, 75 the Pirate Party, founded in 2006, was Sweden’s third-largest party, with more than 48,000 members, 76 immediately before the June 7, 2009,
elections. At the time of writing, public opinion polls indicated that Piratpartiet would
win representation in the European Parliament and in the national parliament, Riksdagen, in the next general elections (expected in 2010).
Nordic Countries
333