Denmark reportedly abandoning ‘three strikes’ piracy law in favor of education and site blocking

Denmark is reportedly set to unveil a new anti-piracy strategy that will focus on education and innovation instead of punishment. According to TorrentFreak, the Ministry of Culture will soon announce a “Pirate Package” meant to entice users into paying for music or other content. It will also reportedly no longer be considering a rumored “three strikes” law that would kick users off the internet after three copyright infringement-related convictions. Instead, the Ministry will work with rightsholders, telecoms, and others to spur creation of legal alternatives to piracy, educate users on what constitutes copyright infringement, and reach out to users who “upload and use illegal material.”

More controversially, however, TorrentFreak reports that Denmark could expand the ISP-level blocking of sites like Grooveshark and The Pirate Bay. ISPs and rightsholders have allegedly reached an agreement on blocking with the Danish government, which would require a court to decide whether one ISP should block a site and then communicate that decision to other companies, who would also cut off access. Abandoning discussion of the widely unpopular three strikes law is a good move for Denmark, but it’s still unclear how effective these new measures will be.