In one of the biggest wins against copyright, Sweden's Pirate Party has won two seats in the European Parliament election.
The political group has been around since 2006, but the recent trial of the non-connected Pirate Bay Four, who face a year in jail and heavy fines after being found guilty of online copyright infringement, has seen the party gain 7.1 per cent of votes in Sweden.
This equates to around 200,000 people voting for the party, up from around 35,000 votes when it first ran in 2006.
Changed the landscape of European politics
Speaking to TorrentFreak about the news, Pirate Party leader Rick Falkvinge said: "We've felt the wind blow in our sails. We've seen the polls prior to the election. But to stand here, today, and see the figures coming up on that screen...
"Together, we have today changed the landscape of European politics. No matter how this night ends, we have changed it,"
He continued: "This feels wonderful. The citizens have understood it's time to make a difference. The older politicians have taken apart young peoples' lifestyle, bit by bit. We do not accept the authorities' mass-surveillance."
Via Torrent Freak
Your comments (4) Click to add a new comment
weezer
June 8th 2009
4. Er... what's their agenda? Not paying for anything ever again? Or just stop the intrusive surveillance (so we don't need to pay for anything ever again)?
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awesomesauce
June 8th 2009
3. ARR! Go pirate party!
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gavin
June 8th 2009
2. Outstanding!
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calcio
June 8th 2009
1. Good for them - fight the good fight from within. Go Pirate Party!
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