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Row in Spain over internet and copyright
Dec 4, 2009, 12:14 GMT
Madrid - Protests were increasing in Spain on Friday over draft legislation targeting the downloading of copyright-protected music, movies or software from the internet.
It had initially been understood that the law would make it possible for an intellectual property commission to close down websites without a court order.
Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero, however, said Thursday that no websites or blogs would be shut down.
Parliament should not approve legislation which 'placed copyright above fundamental freedoms,' said Victor Domingo, president of the Spanish Association of Internet Users.
A Facebook group opposing the law collected 85,000 signatures against it in 48 hours, and street rallies were planned in more than half a dozen cities.
The Spanish record label association Promusicae, on the other hand, urged the government 'not to give in to pirates' and not to retract on its plans.
Culture Minister Angeles Gonzalez-Sinde earlier said the law only targeted the 'illegal offer' of material and not the way citizens used the internet.
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