P2P is a Crime
Now P2P is a crime - according to this article Spain outlaws P2P filesharing
A Spanish intellectual property law has finally banned unauthorized peer-to-peer file-sharing in Spain, making it a civil offense even to download content for personal use.Now I haven't got to the bottom of what "unauthorised peer-to-peer" file sharing is - but this article from Slashdot suggests that the law effectively outlaws all P2P file sharing.The legislation, approved by Congress on Thursday, toughens previous provisions. An early May circular from Spain's fiscal general del estado, or chief prosecutor, allowed downloads for purely personal use.
Spanish Congress has made it a civil offense to download anything via p2p networks, and a criminal offense for ISP's to allow users to file-share, even if the use is fair.So I can't determine from all this is whether all P2P file sharing has become illegal - even for Open Source software, Creative Copyright material and self produced material.There is also to be a tax on all forms of blank media, including flash memory drives. I guess the move towards distributing films legally via BitTorrent is a no go in Spain.
Suppose I place a copy of "Hackers Handbook" on a P2P torrent along with some MP3's of tracks I have made and a bunch of pictures I have taken - all under Creative Copyright - am I then a criminal because I have decided to use a P2P network as my method of distribution?
But the law goes even further - it requires ISP's to take active measures to prevent P2P file sharing.
Instead of directly going after the filesharers themselves the Spanish have decided to make it a criminal offence for Internet providers to facilitate filesharing. It's not clear how "facilitate filesharing" is defined, but if it simply means "allowing it to happen", ISPs in Spain are in for some massive headaches. Blocking P2P is far from easy because it's possible to "hide" the traffic by using standard Internet protocol ports (like http and ftp) and encryption.So while one part of the law might allow me to distribute Open Source software and Creative Copyright material - the other part of the law means that ISP's have to try and stop me - how crazy is that?
Right now I can't figure out how far this law is going to go - but it looks like a blow not just against copyright violation theft - but also against the whole Open Source and Creative Commons movement by denying them the right to distribute material which is not copyright violating via P2P networks.
It strangles small net record companies who use P2P to distribute their music under Creative Copyright at low cost, it penalises the Open Source movement who distribute software at low cost, and it strangles innovative ideas - such as delivering legal content via P2P networks - at birth.
When P2P networks are criminalised only outlaws will use P2P networks - how many times have you heard that sort of thing and thought "it will nver happen"
Now it has.
Tags: p2p, spain, copyright violation, open source, creative copyright