Clamping Down in Spain
Wow. If true, this article at Gizmodo makes it sounds pretty bleak in Spain. The author claims that not only is there an “artistic tax” (a tariff handed over to the music industry on a wide range of consumer products that assumes you steal their stuff), but now Spanish law gives the music labels the power to shut down any alleged P2P web site for any reason without due process or presumption of innocence.
The “if true” part is the key; such claims are often exaggerated, and this certainly sounds overblown. Spanish people must both pay extra taxes directly to the music industry for stealing music, and the music industry gets to shut down web sites without a warrant? Sounds a bit much. But then again, it’s not completely outside the realm of possibility.