Hollywood, The MPAA and the US government demanded action from the Swedish government. If Sweden decided not to give in to their wishes the US would impose trade sanctions.

According to IT prosecutor Hakan Rosswall the USA pressured the Swedish government and threatened to blacklist the Swedes within the WTO (World Trade Organization).

Swedish secretary of state Dan Eliasson confirmed the information stating:

I know that the USA has opinions as it comes to the effectiveness of our system when it comes to copyright and that Sweden and other countries aren’t following thier international agreements. There are sanction mechanisms in the USA, and this has been pointed out from their side.

The threats were successful, and Swedish politicians demanded the takedown of The Piratebay, which is obviously wrong. Toba from the Piratebay says:

In Sweden it is considered very important that the politicians do not interfere with certain cases of police work. So you might understand why people here are so pissed off about Bush, MPAA, fucking Tom Cruise or whoever it was being behind this big sabotage against The Pirate Bay.

More details in the subtitled Swedish news item below.

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