Internet traffic in Sweden has plummeted after a tough new anti-piracy law was enacted in the country earlier this week, casting interesting new light on the extent to which illegal file-sharing occurs.
The new law makes copyright holders such as record and entertainment companies to go through the courts to determine the identities of those suspected of piracy, via their IP addresses.
The anonymity illegal file sharers have has hitherto made the practice widespread, although figures vary as to exactly how commonplace it is in various countries.
However, traffic to Netnod Internet Exchange AB, a Swedish firm which manages many of the countrys key internet exchanges reported a drop of around half since Wednesday, when the law took effect. Throughput has yet to pick up.
Data transmission rates have slumped from a peak of around 190/200 Gbit/sec to daily highs since Wednesday of about 100 Gbit/sec. At the time of writing, the figure was around 80Gbit/sec.
Along with its Scandinavian neighbours, Sweden has one of the most mature internet industries in the world, with a highly developed fibre-optic network broadband infrastructure. The figures will be a shock to many, pointing as they do to a potentially high prevalence of illegal file sharing.
Swedish net traffic halves after new law - vnunet.com
The new law makes copyright holders such as record and entertainment companies to go through the courts to determine the identities of those suspected of piracy, via their IP addresses.
The anonymity illegal file sharers have has hitherto made the practice widespread, although figures vary as to exactly how commonplace it is in various countries.
However, traffic to Netnod Internet Exchange AB, a Swedish firm which manages many of the countrys key internet exchanges reported a drop of around half since Wednesday, when the law took effect. Throughput has yet to pick up.
Data transmission rates have slumped from a peak of around 190/200 Gbit/sec to daily highs since Wednesday of about 100 Gbit/sec. At the time of writing, the figure was around 80Gbit/sec.
Along with its Scandinavian neighbours, Sweden has one of the most mature internet industries in the world, with a highly developed fibre-optic network broadband infrastructure. The figures will be a shock to many, pointing as they do to a potentially high prevalence of illegal file sharing.
Swedish net traffic halves after new law - vnunet.com
