AEPOC President Jean Grenier has described the recent election in Sweden of the Pirate Party into the European Parliament as a wake-up call for national governments.
Addressing a meeting of the anti-piracy organisation in Brussels, Grenier said it was time governments took a clear position on policy matters. “Piracy is not a sport, it remains a theft. The election of the Pirate Party shows there is confusion among voters on this matter. The creative industry and political decision makers should draw a very clear line against cyber crime, as our society and economy relies increasingly on internet-based or other digital services. The internet must not be a lawless territory that excuses or condones crime, be it theft, counterfeiting or child abuse.”
The meeting admitted Multichoice Hellas into the organisation. Representatives of the company, which has a presence in both Greece and Cyprus, said they had already taken action against a number of card-sharing servers. Although Greece implemented the European CA-Directive against audio-visual piracy in 2003, Cyprus is yet to do so.