Spain bans file-sharing

The Spanish government has outlawed peer-to-peer filesharing, and added a tax to blank discs in an effort to hit back at pirates.

A law enacted last week makes it a criminal offence for ISPs to “facilitate filesharing”. Added to this is a tax on recordable digital media, such as blank CDs and DVDs. The tax will go into a fund which will be shared among copyright holders to compensate for piracy.

However, in a statement, the European Commission said it is worried that such levies will damage consumers and create resentment. In a consultation document the Commission said: "The logic of levies would also have to be applied to broadband and infrastructure service providers including telecommunications providers that carry content.

"If this were to happen, levies would proliferate and there would be a serious risk of a backlash against the rights holder community and consumer welfare.”

According to the European Music Consumer Survey 2005, published by JupiterResearch in March, Spain had the highest file sharing rate in Europe (26 per cent of internet users) and one of the lowest averages of annual music spends, just 12.25 Euros per capita.