Swedish Anti-copyright Pirate Party Wins EU Parliament Seat

The Pirate Party was formed to give political expression to the Swedish anti-copyright movement. It began by arguing for the abolition of copyright restrictions on individuals but is now also increasingly developing a set of policies based on the need for digital privacy.

"All non-commercial copying and use should be completely free," says the party's statement of principles. "File sharing and p2p networking should be encouraged rather than criminalized. Culture and knowledge are good things, that increase in value the more they are shared. The internet could become the greatest public library ever created."

"Following the 9/11 event in the US, Europe has allowed itself to be swept along in a panic reaction to try to end all evil by increasing the level of surveillance and control over the entire population," says its statement. "We Europeans should know better ... we must pull the emergency brake on the runaway train towards a society we do not want. Terrorists may attack the open society, but only governments can abolish it. The Pirate Party wants to prevent that from happening."