profound cultural and generational change

profound cultural and generational change Some other European countries have taken more forceful Edge cardaction to try to tackle piracy. Last year, French lawmakers approved a law under which illegal file sharers who ignore two written warnings to stop could face the loss of their Internet connection, though the law is not yet being applied.

Britain recently passed a similar law, though it also has yet to go into effect. Last month, an Irish judge upheld an agreement between Ireland’s largest Internet service provider, Eircom, and the music industry that authorizes cutoffs.

But Victor Domingo, president of the Spanish Internet Users Association, said the group would go as high as Spain’s constitutional court to fight any legislation that curtailed access.

“The government is putting authors’ rights, which are of course important, on the same level as much more fundamental rights of privacy and freedom of expression,” Mr. Domingo said. “It has cost us a lot in this country after 40 years of dictatorship to acquire such rights for our citizens, but now we risk losing them.”

The proposed law would, in effect, reverse the burden of proof, empowering a new commission to shut down suspect Web sites pending the outcome of any court appeal.

The proposal has generated debate because some critics see it as infringing on the rights of individuals. In a country where access to information and entertainment had been severely limited during the Franco dictatorship, Spaniards’ growing enthusiasm for the Internet and all that it offers reflects a profound cultural and generational change.

Mr. Domingo sees the fight against downloading as “just an excuse for companies to try to stick to a business model that no longer makes sense and is way behind the technology.”

Indeed, Spain once was one of the most thriving music and film markets in Europe, and executives in these industries fault file-sharing for the decline. The Spanish music market, which ranks 10th worldwide in revenue, has shrunk to a third of what it was in 2001, according to the International Federation Edge cardof the Phonographic Industry, which represents the recording industry.