Swedish Internet Traffic Recovers After Initial IPRED Scare

[Kurska]

"When Sweden’s IPRED legislation came into force on April 1st this year, the country saw a massive 30% drop in Internet traffic. Many attributed this to Internet user fears associated with increased powers of anti-piracy groups. Now, 8 months later, traffic is completely back to normal and on track to exceed pre-IPRED level

The introduction of Sweden’s controversial Intellectual Property Rights Enforcement Directive (IPRED) gave rights holders the authority to request personal details of alleged Internet copyright infringers in order that they can be pursued through the legal system.

The legislation came into force on April 1st this year, and the very next day the Netnod Internet Exchange reported a significant drop of 30% in Swedish Internet traffic. This dramatic reduction in data transfers was attributed to file-sharers reigning in their activities on fears of being identified by anti-piracy companies.

In response to the news, Swedish Pirate Party Chairman Rick Falkvinge told TorrentFreak that most experts believed that the initial “scare effect” would wear off in time. They were absolutely right.

Current data from Netnod reveals that traffic levels in Sweden have not only returned to normal, pre-IPRED levels, but actually seem on track to surpass them. This increase is partly natural, but the relatively steep climb in recent months seems to suggest that P2P traffic is on the rise again."


http://torrentfreak.com/swedish-internet-traffic-recovers-after-initial-ipred-scare-091113/

More commentary on the futility of such actions at the source.

It is absolutely astounding the amounts of money governments are WASTING trying to stop something that can't be stopped without dramatically changing the entire structure of the internet.