In just the past few years, we’ve seen the Protect IP Act,
the Stop Online Piracy Act, the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement, and
countless other pieces of legislation around the world billed as the solution
to digital crime. But every time one of these proposals is brought to the public,
the backlash is swift and severe. And thank goodness for that. While
each one of these political devices sought to bring increased legitimacy to
online business – particularly with regards to copyright infringement and
creative rights – in reality, they would bring an end to the free internet as
we know it; decimating free speech, destroying security, and opening the gates
for warrantless surveillance. So, is it safe to say that politicians are out of
touch with the internet?
Maybe not.
Introducing: The Pirate Party. They don’t have eye patches
(as far as we know) and they’re not after your booty, but many of them are
hackers and their next target is your political system.
Origins
The Pirates first set sail in 2006 when Swedish political
evangelist Rick Falkvinge was able to rally members of his bourgeoning party
against the police raid on the Pirate Bay’s file sharing servers. Using a
platform in support of copyright reform (anti-DRM, anti-software patents), and
government transparency, the Pirates were able to amass a critical number of
members – enough to convince a coalition of left-wing political parties to
adopt their policies and enough to return a Swedish member of the European
Parliament to office under their flag.
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| Yar! We'll plunder, pillage and win seats in Parliament! |
But the winds really picked up last September when the
Pirates won their first seats in a state parliament after capturing 8.5% of the
vote in Berlin state elections and then more seats in March in the Saarland
region elections. While many considered the Berlin elections to be a temporary
political fluke, the victories in Saarland secured the Pirates as a legitimate
party and force for change in German politics.
Presently, the Pirates are polling around 9% in the two
regions that will be holding state parliamentary elections in May – substantially
more than the 5% minimum to be awarded seats. Current numbers estimate the
Pirate Party is now Germany’s third most popular party.
So what do Pirates
stand for anyway?
The pirates run on a platform of open information.
Government transparency and accountability, free file sharing and digital
freedom (anti-ACTA, for example) are all major campaign points. In fact, the
Pirates are so dedicated to transparency that they will only go into coalition
negotiations with parties that agree to livestream the negotiations online –
allowing anyone to see and understand the deals being cut.
But beyond policy, the Pirates are also taking aim at the
system itself. The concept involves using the connectedness of the internet to
actually transform the ways political decisions are made. This is where an
innovative piece of software called Liquid Feedback comes into play.
Liquid Feedback is a software package and online forum that
allows party members to have constant and equal input in party and policy
decisions. The program offers members the opportunity to voice opinions, draft
legislation, and help make party decisions. The concepts fleshed out in Liquid
Feedback are then brought to official party meetings where those in attendance
vote on them. It even uses algorithms to evaluate party opinion on certain
issues. As a Pirate Party member, you could feasibly have input in every
decision the party makes. But here’s where things get really interesting. Since
most members likely don’t have the time or desire to actively participate in
every decision and every piece of legislation the party makes – that’s why we
have elected representatives – a member can actually delegate their votes to
other members based on expertise or influence. Members can delegate all their
votes, or only votes on specific issues. The Pirates have essentially created a
gray area between direct and representative democracy where each voter gets to
decide their own level of participation.
What’s next
The problem with the Pirate Party in its current form is its
lack of definition on issues outside the internet and transparency. They don’t
have an official stance on many issues pertaining to major topics like
immigration, the economy, or foreign policy. But despite these ambiguities,
expect the Pirates to play a major role in German and pan-European politics for
the foreseeable future. At present count, there are Pirate Parties registered
in over 40 countries. As we’ve seen, even in countries where they aren’t
winning seats in parliament, they’re influencing policy. And as long as the
long established parties keep pushing dangerous digital policies like ACTA and
SOPA, expect the Pirates to continue waving their flag.
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