Rick Falkvinge, founder and leader of the Pirate Party movement and leader of the Swedish Pirate Party, posts a stunning critique of a European Commission petition, which at last makes it the first English post I can link to. Rick has an amazing ability to precisely state, in plain language, the problems of DRM and draconian laws trying to protect today’s distributors and show that there’s more at stake than “kids getting free music”.
Normally I’d quote part of it, but it’s so good — and I suppose if you’re not already into it, also so mind-opening — that I’m having trouble doing so. If you’re at all interested in your personal rights and freedom of speech, read it. Even if you think you’re not and that this is boring, read it anyway.
(Even though the post consists mostly of his letter to the European Commission as a reply to their “Creative Content Online” consultation, there are three lines of Swedish at the top, and the title is Swedish. For completeness, the title translates to “The people in power at least pretend to listen”, and the first paragraph describes what the rest of his post is.)