Swedish anti-piracy law boosted music sales and dropped internet traffic

According to TorrentFreak, once the Swedish government implemented an anti-piracy law dubbed IPRED, legal sales of music spiked dramatically, while Internet traffic dropped significantly as well. IPRED allows copyright holders to request the personal details of people who allegedly steal copyrighted content. Economists based at Sweden’s Uppsala University found that, as a result of IPRED, “the reform decreased Internet traffic by 16% and increased music sales by 36% during the first six months.” 

It’s been five years since Sweden implemented the controversial anti-piracy legislation, IPRED. The law, which gives rights holders the authority to request the personal details of alleged copyright infringers, was met with fierce resistance from ISPs and the public at large. At the same time, however, there were plenty of signs that the law stopped people from pirating. A day after it went into effect, Netnod Internet Exchange reported a significant drop in Swedish Internet traffic. Inspired by the anecdote, the effectiveness of IPRED has become a topic of interest for economists at Uppsala University in Sweden. In a new paper they report their findings on the effect of the anti-piracy law on Internet traffic and music sales.