U.S. appears to bully Sweden into passing laws

Mercurius

I came across this article this morning.

http://falkvinge.net/2011/09/05/cable-reveals-extent-of-lapdoggery-from-swedish-govt-on-copyright-monopoly/

It outlines, with info from the Wikileaks cables, how the U.S. governement bullied Sweden into passing laws, including police reforms and initiating the persecution of the Pirate Bay, threatening to put them on sanctions lists if they didn't, basically at the behest of American corporations.

Among the treasure troves of recently released WikiLeaks cables, we find one whose significance has bypassed Swedish media. In short: every law proposal, every ordinance, and every governmental report hostile to the net, youth, and civil liberties here in Sweden in recent years have been commissioned by the US government and industry interests.
I can understand that the significance has been missed, because it takes a whole lot of knowledge in this domain to recognize the topics discussed. When you do, however, you realize that the cable lists orders for the Swedish Government to implement a series of measures that significantly weakens Sweden’s competitive advantage in the IT field against the US. We had concluded this was the case, but had believed things had come from a large number of different sources. That was wrong. It was all coordinated, and the Swedish Government had received a checklist to tick off. The Government is described in the cables as “fully on board”.
Since 2006, the Pirate Party has claimed that traffic data retention (trafikdatalagring), the expansion of police powers (polismetodutredningen), the law proposal that attempted to introduce Three Strikes (Renforsutredningen), the political trial against and persecution of The Pirate Bay, the new rights for the copyright industry to get subscriber data from ISPs (Ipred) — a power that even the Police don’t have — and the general wiretapping law (FRA-lagen) all have been part of a greater whole, a whole controlled by American interests. It has sounded quite a bit like Conspiracies ’R’ Us. Nutjobby. We have said that the American government is pushing for a systematic dismantlement of civil liberties in Europe and elsewhere to not risk the dominance of American industry interests, in particular in the area of copyright and patent monopolies.
But all of a sudden, there it was, in black on white. It takes the description so far that the civil servants in the Justice Department, people I have named and criticized, have been on the American Embassy and received instructions.
This will become sort of a longish article, as I intend to outline all the hard evidence in detail, but for those who want the executive summary, it is this: The Pirate Party was right on every detail. The hunt for ordinary Joes who share music and movies with one another has been behind the largest dismantlement of civil liberties in modern history, and American interests have been behind every part of it.
At the middle of this, we find the US cable Stockholm 09-141, recommending Sweden to not be blacklisted by the US on the so-called Special 301 list, and outlines why. The Special 301 is a list that the United States compiles every year that names and shames countries that haven’t been friendly enough to American industries. A majority of the world’s population is on the list, Canada and Spain among them. It’s quite nice company to be in, actually.
Since the 1980s, the US has aggressively threatened trade sanctions against countries who don’t give American companies sufficiently large competitive advantages — this is described in detail in the book Information Feudalism about the origins of the TRIPs agreement and WTO, for those interested in gory details. In practice, it works like this: industry associations in the US go to the Trade Representatives, who go to the myriad offices dealing with Foreign Policy, who go to the embassies, who talk to national governments (including the Swedish one) and demand changes to national law to benefit American corporations.

Have they done the same thing in Ireland?

Where do they get off doing this at all, and why don't these governments stand up to them?

Mr. CooL ICE

Well I always thought that Sean Sherlock was being forced to do what hes doing by somebody. Maybe the CIA have threatened to kill his family or something?

Jesus Wept

U.S.A!
U.S.A!
U.S.A!
U.S.A!
U.S.A!
U.S.A!
U.S.A!
U.S.A!
U.S.A!
U.S.A!
U.S.A!
U.S.A!

onemorechance

LordChessington wrote: »

Well I always thought that Sean Sherlock was being forced to do what hes doing by somebody. Maybe the CIA have threatened to kill his family or something?

http://files.broadsheet.ie/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/Picture-4.jpeg

http://www.broadsheet.ie/2012/02/01/irelands-sopa-opera/

NinjaK

Fair play to the US, standing up for its people and interests, they are doing their job. We could learn a thing or two.

theg81der

Of course they have, our Government are the EU and America`s bitch and most of our dail and civil servants probably still don`t even know how to turn a comuter on so they haven`t a clue what their on about anyway.

Mark200

theg81der wrote: »

Of course they have, our Government are the EU and America`s bitch and most of our dail and civil servants probably still don`t even know how to turn a comuter on so they haven`t a clue what their on about anyway.

What an odd thing to say

theg81der

Mark200 wrote: »

What an odd thing to say

Not odd if you`ve seen it first hand! Odd it may be but that doesn`t make me wrong.

Jumpy

theg81der wrote: »

Of course they have, our Government are the EU and America`s bitch and most of our dail and civil servants probably still don`t even know how to turn a comuter on so they haven`t a clue what their on about anyway.

How about "Hop off that bus there and jump into my nice warm limo ..."

Phill Ewinn

No balls. No balls at all

Anita M.

Mercurius wrote: »

I came across this article this morning.

http://falkvinge.net/2011/09/05/cable-reveals-extent-of-lapdoggery-from-swedish-govt-on-copyright-monopoly/

It outlines, with info from the Wikileaks cables, how the U.S. governement bullied Sweden into passing laws, including police reforms and initiating the persecution of the Pirate Bay, threatening to put them on sanctions lists if they didn't, basically at the behest of American corporations.





Have they done the same thing in Ireland?

Where do they get off doing this at all, and why don't these governments stand up to them?

The Irish tax system, offering free buildings to American companies in Ireland, offering part of Shannon airport to be US territory and no longer Irish soil, and the list goes on.

44leto

What is wrong with a country pursuing and protecting its own interests?

The US as the worlds largest media producer loses the most from piracy.

The EU do the same thing with other non EU produce, like some agricultural produce.

losthorizon

44leto wrote: »

What is wrong with a country pursuing and protecting its own interests?

The US as the worlds largest media producer loses the most from piracy.

The EU do the same thing with other non EU produce, like some agricultural produce.

India is the worlds largest media producer

44leto

losthorizon wrote: »

India is the worlds largest media producer

Yeah so, but no-one outside India consumes that media, we all watch and listen to US media, it would be one of their biggest exports.

Chardee MacDennis

Mercurius wrote: »

I came across this article this morning.

http://falkvinge.net/2011/09/05/cable-reveals-extent-of-lapdoggery-from-swedish-govt-on-copyright-monopoly/

It outlines, with info from the Wikileaks cables, how the U.S. governement bullied Sweden into passing laws, including police reforms and initiating the persecution of the Pirate Bay, threatening to put them on sanctions lists if they didn't, basically at the behest of American corporations.





Have they done the same thing in Ireland?

Where do they get off doing this at all, and why don't these governments stand up to them?

we've seen the same cables about Spain already.

http://infojustice.org/archives/7101

karma_

44leto wrote: »

Yeah so, but no-one outside India consumes that media, we all watch and listen to US media, it would be one of their biggest exports.

Ahhh the old 'Yeah so..' rebuttal, that's an argument winner right there, may as well close the thread now so.

kylith

More and more I'm starting to think that World War 3 is going to be the rest of the world protecting itself from America.

biko

I wikileaks

AngryBollix

Havent they done that to everyone?

losthorizon

44leto wrote: »

Yeah so, but no-one outside India consumes that media, we all watch and listen to US media, it would be one of their biggest exports.

I think you mean we dont consume them in Ireland. Different In UK, Africa, Russia and Asia.

The-Rigger

The-Rigger wrote: »

U.S.A!
U.S.A!
U.S.A!
U.S.A!
U.S.A!
U.S.A!
U.S.A!
U.S.A!
U.S.A!
U.S.A!
U.S.A!
U.S.A!

I'm on the Beta skin so.. U. A. U.A?

44leto

losthorizon wrote: »

I think you mean we dont consume them in Ireland. Different In UK, Africa, Russia and Asia.

Would it come close to American cinema, tv and music exports I sincerly doubt that. I don't know the figures but media has to be one of America's biggest exports.

Their TV exports must be huge, an American TV programme seems to be second programme.

Capt'n Midnight

The-Rigger wrote: »

U A

U.S.A!
U.S.A!

On a white background that looks like you are pimping United Artists.
( part of MGM )

So we all know where you stand on giving more power to the copyright holders vs. freedom of expression.

Shryke

44leto wrote: »

Would it come close to American cinema, tv and music exports I sincerly doubt that. I don't know the figures but media has to be one of America's biggest exports.

Their TV exports must be huge, an American TV programme seems to be second programme.

I think the BBC would be up their actually. That's just my opinion.

You can't justify the threat of trade sanctions against a country to make them dance like puppets so as to protect the profit margins of out of date, slowly dying companys.
Did they shut down the Pirate Bay? No. Their strategy is useless, idiotic and damaging. If media giants had spent half the cash they've wasted fighting piracy on innovation they wouldn't be in such a mess.

Mr Trade In

No Meat in them balls I tells ya.

44leto

Shryke wrote: »

I think the BBC would be up their actually. That's just my opinion.

You can't justify the threat of trade sanctions against a country to make them dance like puppets so as to protect the profit margins of out of date, slowly dying companys.
Did they shut down the Pirate Bay? No. Their strategy is useless, idiotic and damaging. If media giants had spent half the cash they've wasted fighting piracy on innovation they wouldn't be in such a mess.

Well it was, but instead of now concentrating on the sites like pirate bay, which I agree is futile, they are going after the ISPs, which is effective. People who have eircom are already getting warning letters about pirating.

I have UPC so I am OK for a while, well, till the end of this month then Ireland will get its version of SOPA.

The BBC wouldn't come close to American TV exports, no-where near it.

Mike 1972

US bullying other countries into taking draconian copyright measures is hardly something new although its usually done via the WTO etc.