How the US pressured Spain to adopt unpopular Web blocking law. Though a deeply divided Congress is currently considering Internet website censorship legislation, the US has no such official policy—not even for child porn, which is voluntarily blocked by some ISPs.
Nor does the US have a government-backed "three strikes" or "graduated response" system of escalating warnings to particular users accused of downloading music and movies from file-sharing networks. Yet here was the ultimatum that the US Embassy in Madrid gave the Spanish government in February 2008: adopt such measures or we will punish you. No more levies as Spain takes the Nordic route. This weblog is grateful to Sandra Alverà (Manager, European Legal and Government Affairs, Panasonic Europe) for some big news from Spain: the country has abolished its copyright levy system and is to establish a fresh one, based much on the Norwegian system: calculation of the payments will be determined by the government following dialogue with stakeholders, payments then being integrated into the national budget.
Sandra adds that The Netherlands is also moving towards abolishment of copyright levies -- but is not there yet! As for Spain itself, Sandra explains that the government is meeting commitments made in the recent electoral campaign: eight years after the controversial implementation of the “canon digital” [subsequently shot down by the Court of Justice of the European Union in Case C-467/08 Padawan], the government decided to abolish the present copyright levy system on Friday 31 December 2011. SOPA-like law passes in Spain, U.S. allegedly involved - Tech Talk. (CBS) - An anti-piracy law passed in Spain on Jan. 3 has striking similarities to the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) that is stirring controversy in the U.S.
Full coverage of SOPA at Tech TalkSOPA supporters facing boycotts, thanks to RedditSOPA opposition from tech heavyweights Google, Facebook The Sinde Law, which is named after former Spanish Culture Minister Angeles Gonzalez-Sinde, lets copyright holders report websites that host content which infringes on their rights. The government must then choose to take action against the site or ISP. If moved along, a judge will decide whether or not to shut down the website. What's interesting about the law is that the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) alleges the U.S. had a hand in pushing Spain to pass the legislation.