Pirate Party Rep Tells UN Meeting: “F*** You, This Is My Culture!”

By Monika Ermert for Intellectual Property Watch

Baku, Azerbaijan – Amelia Andersdotter, member of the European Parliament for the Swedish Pirate Party, in no polite words today (6 November) told the participants of the 7th Internet Governance Forum in Baku what she thought about the lack of progress in adapting copyright to the digital age.

We hear that freedom of speech must be upheld and protected online, she said during the opening session with ministers and diplomats. But there are very few political figures in the world who would drive the issue and also acknowledge that this might require “to let go of some regulatory barriers.” To conclude, Andersdotter said, she just wanted to tell the audience, “f*** you, this is my culture!”

Copyright, while not the main issue at the IGF, is prominently on the agenda of this year’s edition of the meeting, with Andersdotter participating in several sessions. Speaking to Intellectual Property Watch, she said after the opening session that she could see the usefulness of the IGF as a non-decision-making platform to enable “grass-root debates” about future norms in cyberspace, for example, on copyright. We harmonise at too high a level too quickly, she said, but the necessary grassroots discussions take time.