Norwegian Internet Anti-Piracy Law Goes Into Effect Today

NORWAY—An anti-piracy law years in the making went live today in Norway, a country known for being friendly to the digital pirate ethos… until today. The law tears down previous barriers to rightsholder monitoring of alleged infringers and makes possible the previously impossible blocking of torrent sites like The Pirate Bay and others. The changes, which may sound mild to Americans, could very well come as a culture shock to many Norwegians who for years have supported digital content use that, as TorrentFreak put it last month, “tipped in the favor of file-sharers.” The situation prevailed until 2011, when “things began to change.” The Ministry of Culture announced proposed amendments to the Copyright Act that gave copyright holders the “tools they need” to fight online piracy, or more specifically, the pirates themselves. One significant change to the law amended who may monitor alleged infringers; previously, it was restricted to a single licensed entity, but as TF reported today, “Just a few hours ago it became possible for copyright holders to apply to the government for permission to scan file-sharing networks for infringements. Other changes to the law means that harvested IP addresses can be converted to real-life identities with the help of the courts and ISPs.” Taking advantage of the new ability to track alleged offenders will be a new group. “a team effort by the major labels of IFPI [International Federation of the Phonographic Industry], the movie industry and other publishers,” that is modeled on rights alliances formed in Denmark and Sweden. As a last resort, pirate sites can be blocked at the ISP level following a successful appeal to the courts. “It is widely expected that the music industry will go after ISP Telenor first in an attempt to have it block The Pirate Bay,” said TF.