Text written in Basque and translated automatically by Elia without any subsequent editing. SEE ORIGINAL

Law against downloads

At the end of last year, the Spanish Council of Ministers approved the preliminary draft of the Sustainable Economy Act. Under this law, the Ministry of Culture will have the power to shut down websites that allegedly infringe copyright. The decisions have, of course, been made by the dust of the net.

The purpose of the law is to terminate websites that provide links to download movies, music, or any other copyrighted content. An Intellectual Property Commission would shut down these websites. Whether or not this closure violates any fundamental right, but nothing more, would be decided by a judge.

Thousands of people have opposed the ‘anti-download law’. the ‘Declaration for Fundamental Rights on the Internet’ has been published and has received numerous endorsements. This statement states that copyright cannot override our fundamental rights, such as freedom of expression or the right to privacy.

On the other hand, netizens say that whether or not we can access a website should be decided by a judge, not an organization that depends on the ministry. In addition, they believe that they are putting obstacles in the way of the intellectual creativity that has been so democratized thanks to the Internet.

There is no doubt that authors have the right to make economic use of their work. But it is the industry dedicated to the creation of cultural content that has to adapt to the new eras.