Premiere in European Anti-Piracy Disconnection - Starring the Finnish Government

There has been a wave of debates over the last few months upon the chances of disconnecting file-sharers from the Internet. One of the advocates in this respect has been France which has served as an example for other countries that manifested their intention of implementing similar policies. This policy has been conducted regardless of objections and concerns that it may be a disproportionate measure taken against the file-sharing phenomenon. However, until today, the actual implementation of this seemed remote.

As we learn from TorrentFreak, the Copyright Information and Anti-piracy Centre (CIAPC) in Finland has disconnected a file-sharer from the Internet basing its action on a copyright law which issued on January 1st 2006. Reportedly this is the first disconnection in Europe coming as a measure against piracy. The one incriminated was a government employee who used a government internet connection to swap music videos.

That was not enough for CIAPC which managed to have the government connection cut off through the Ahvenanmaan District Court. As CIAPC stated the connection, operated by the ISP Ålands Datakommunikation, was being used by the Provincial Government of Åland

It appears that the Finnish copyright lobby cunningly slipped the disconnection sanction into copyright law without the legislators hearing the opinions of any independent legal or technical experts. Electronic Frontier Finland (EFFI). EFFI vice chairman Ville Oksanen expressed clearly his contestation of the legislation process which in his opinion was “one of the dirtiest he has ever seen”.

Moreover, this action contravenes the European Parliament’s position regarding the disconnection of alleged illegal file-sharers from the Internet which states that having them disconnected means “conflicting with civil liberties and human rights and with the principles of proportionality, effectiveness and dissuasiveness”.

So, should we consider therefore copyright enforcement above government activity?