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Spain implements web site shutdown law
THE FRESHLY INSTALLED Spanish government has put into force the sort of law that copyright holders pray for, a no holds barred bad web site shutdown act.
Torrentfreak reports that the government of Spain has fully implemented the law, called the Sinde Law, explaining that web sites can now be shut down or blocked by ISPs just ten days after a rightsholder complains.
Deputy prime minister Maria Soraya Saenz de Santamaria announced the full passage of the law nearly a year after it was first agreed on, at a press conference, reports the local newspaper Elmundo. She explained that it took Spain deeper "in the international standard in the fight against piracy."
The Sinde Law covers web sites that offer content, or offer links to it, according to the report, and will see very swift action taken against those web pages. Once a letter of complaint is received its claims will be looked at by an intellectual property committee, which will decide whether they are just.
Once this has been completed a judge will have 72 hours to rule on whether the web site in question must be shut down. In total this procedure is expected to take only ten days. µ
Tags: Internet
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The key here is that a Judge needs to approve the action. The Spanish legal system is completely inundated with cases with ever dwindling resources. Although it may take 10 days to present it to a Judge, I don't beleive the judge will be practically able to rule in 72 hours. In reality it's most likely to take months. In the meantime the owner just closes the site down and opens a new one. The sheer volume will make the law unworkable.
The purpose of these laws isn't to shut down some website that facilitates "piracy". The real intention is to be able to censor sites that any given government deems is in opposition to whatever totalitarian missives said government dictates.
So no one who cares will host anythin g controversial in Spain on on a .es domain. And anyone in Spain who objects to censorship can will just use Open DNS. Every domain they ban, a new one will be created.
Eventually will we all use TOR and VPNs if we have to. They will never win with censorship of the internet.