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Pirate Party makes bid for European Parliament

by on30 March 2009

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20 candidates make a go for it


The Swedish
Pirate Party is going to make a serious bid in the next  European Parliament with more than 20 candidates running.

Activist Christian Engström said that if politicians want to prevent ordinary citizens from sharing files, they will constantly have to expand their ability to monitor. He wants to reform the copyright legislation to ensure that citizens' right to privacy is respected."

The Pirate Party believes people should be able to freely copy books or music for private use. It also wants the abolition of the patent system and guaranteed online privacy rights. It might have a job though. Despite the fact that Sweden's youth might believe in the aims of the party.  No one votes for them. In the Swedish national election in 2006 the outfit only got 0.63 percent of the votes.

Engström argues that since then there is a growing outrage in Sweden over draconian new anti-privacy legislation, and the recent trial of The Pirate Bay in Stockholm earned saturation-level media coverage.

Membership of the  Pirate Party is now larger than the Left Party and the Green Party. The party's youth section, "Young Pirates," is currently the second biggest political youth group in Sweden.
Last modified on 31 March 2009
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