Political FAQs

From Pirate Party UK Wiki

Some questions we often get asked:

• "It’s fine to remove restrictive copyright practices, but there is no mention of any policy to guarantee that copyright is respected and copyright material paid for when appropriate"

We are committed to a 10 year copyright duration. We are also absolutely committed to the respect and enforcement of copyright in a commercial setting. Most of the problems with copyright today stem from the fact that it's seen as unfairly restrictive. We believe that people are far more likely to respect a fair copyright law than an unfair one, and infringement rates will go down when copyright is reformed. Part of copyright reform is to solve the problem of monopolistic 'rights holders' taking a huge cut from money that fans would expect content creators to get. With copyright laws fit for the digital age, we expect that fans will be much more likely to pay for copyright works, because they will know that their money is reaching the artist and isn't being swallowed up by a faceless corporation.

• "Privacy is extremely important but rights to privacy including online information and DNA should not take precedence over solving serious crimes and achieving national security"

There is a difficult balance to strike here. We have no objection to the use of online information or DNA to solve crimes, what we object to is the idea that government should spy on absolutely everyone just in case they might commit a crime. Our criminal justice system has traditionally has a safeguard against this, the need to convince a Judge to issue a warrant before starting a covert surveillance operation. We believe that this principle is important, and that big brother should only be watching you if there is reasonable suspicion that you are doing something wrong.

• "Freedom of speech is also extremely important but safeguards are needed to prevent publication of offensive or inflammatory materials or of truly damaging libel"

Yes, there is an argument for certain safeguards around freedom of speech. On libel, for example, our proposals are not particularly radical, and would bring the UK more into line with other western countries, preventing the current problem of 'libel tourism', and the chilling effect on free speech of our current overzealous punishments. We also want to reduce the cost of bringing a libel action, so that the general public and not just the very rich can afford justice when they have been libelled. On the other hand, we do not believe there is, or ought to be, a "right not to be offended". Freedom of speech is freedom of speech, even if it offends someone. In fact, freedom of speech means precisely freedom to say things other people (particularly the powerful) don't like.

• "Given the lack of interest in the manifesto in any day to day governance issues, how can the party hope to be anything other than an irritation to the body politic?"

The Pirate Parties worldwide are sometimes compared to the Green movement - what starts out as a single-issue party can certainly grow to become much more than "an irritation", and, as it grows, can have something to say about more and more areas. We do aspire to expanding our manifesto to cover the whole range of political issues -- you are welcome to join the party and get involved in the process. Our polices are driven and voted on by grassroots members, not dictated from the top, so if you have good ideas, let us share them with the voters!