Swedens EU parliamentary delegation is rejoicing following a decision by the body to toss out a proposal that would have banned file sharers from the internet and forced internet service providers to filter content in the hunt for pirated material.
Whats important about this decision is that now its clear that you cant force [internet service] providers to ban people from the internet without a legal process, said Moderate Party EU parliamentarian Christofer Fjellner to the TT news agency. Fjellner had been a fierce opponent of the proposal, which was part of a larger reform package passed by the EU parliament on Wednesday to boost competition in the EU telecoms sector. While many of the proposed reforms were welcomed by the EU parliament because they were seen to benefit consumers, the proposal regarding file sharing was quite controversial, prompting a furious effort by EU parliamentarians from both ends of Swedens political spectrum to jettison the proposal. Eva-Britt Svensson of the Left Party also sits in the EU parliament and succeeded in moving the body to support an amendment requiring a legal process in suspected file sharing cases.
http://www.thelocal.se/14548/20080924/