p2pnet news view Freedom | P2P:- Will Bahnof sue Antipiratbyran?

That was a 2005 p2pnet headline which went on:

“The Big Music cartel’s Swedish RIAA clone, Antipiratbyrån, has admitted using a paid informer in its attack on Sweden’s Bahnhof ISP in what Banhof ceo Jon Karlung described as a ‘badly arranged ambush’.

“Bahnhof is now, ‘considering legal action after it emerged that illegal material uncovered in a raid on its premises was placed there by a paid informant of the antipiracy group that mounted the operation’.”

Bahnhof, the country’s first independent ISP, is once again in the news, this time following the launch of Sweden’s corporate entertainment cartel-inspired IPRED law, which turns local ISPs into corporate copyright cops compelled to turn user information over to the movie and music industries.

And this time, there’s no question about the action it’s taking.

Sweden, second only to Japan in “blazing fast consumer internet speeds and home to arguably the revolution of file sharing with the creation of The Pirate Bay and The Pirate Party, has been strangled by content industry lobbied laws (IPRED) to force the population into obedience, ie, buying corporate ‘product’,”  says eZee.se admin Ryan S.

Now, “Bahnhof – an ISP and a long time and vocal opponent to the IPRED law has decided to put its money where its mouth is, and in the process make the new IPRED laws unenforceable for all of its own customers.,”" he tells p2pnet, going on »»»

Under the new Swedish IPRED laws ISPs have to hand over personal details to ‘content industry investigators’ (a new name for an old profession: formally known as ‘witch hunters’) once said investigators get a much more easily (post IPRED) obtainable court order. (Much like the way the RIAA in the U.S get subscriber details so they can sue dead people or destroy the lives of the living.)

But Swedish ISPs are free to destroy their customer data as long as there’s no ongoing case against their customer/s.

So that’s exactly what Bahnhof intends to do —- destroy all its customer data making the IPRED law as useful as Paris Hilton in a Shakespearean play.

Needless to say the news has been met by a lot of cheers by thousands of Bahnhof’s customers and a scramble by customers of other ISPs to see when their present contracts expire.

The word ‘exodus’ comes to mind!

In fact, I’ve just called up my own ISP and spoken to them about Bahnhof’s offerings and asked them when they are going that route, or should Bahnhof count me in as one of their newest subscribers?

Not very surprisingly, I was told I wasn’t the first person to enquire about this and the management will get back to me (and all other enquirers) with a prepared statement.

If all ISPs decide to go this route rather than lose most of their subscribers to Bahnhof, IPRED will be remembered as one of the biggest April fool jokes in history– a win for freedom of culture, and another huge blow to the likes of the IFPI, RIAA, MPAA etc.

Reference: The Local

Ryan S – eZee.se

(Check out Ryan’s YouTube version of  ‘You can click but you can’t hide’. )

p2pnet – Will Bahnof sue Antipiratbyran?, March 30, 2005
using a paid informer – Big Music’s Bahnhof Bust, March 22, 2005
cartel-inspired IPRED law – Sweden’s IPRED, two weeks on, April 15, 2009