Ending the open season on artists

LIKE the pirates of the Spanish Main, modern Spaniards like to get something for nothing. Nearly half of all internet users in Spain use services that distribute music illegally—double the European Union average, according to the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry, a trade group.

Type the name of any American TV show into google.es and a free download of the latest episode is just two or three clicks away. Video games, no doubt including “Pirates of the Spanish Main”, are pirated too. This week Spain at last decided to send in the navy.

A new law, passed on February 15th, aims to shut down iffy file-sharing websites that carry lots of copyrighted material. Digital libertarians are aghast. Alex de la Iglesia, a cult film director, resigned from his post as president of the film academy, saying the law was “not a solution” and that the internet would be the film industry's “salvation”.

Yet others say the law is too weak. Other countries are tougher. Britain and France pursue and fine the consumers of pirated content. America has been leaning on the Spanish government to crack down for some time.

The most controversial aspect of the new law is the creation of a government committee on intellectual property with the power to close suspect websites pending the outcome of any court appeal. To keep the commission in check, this will require the signatures of two judges: one to safeguard the right to freedom of expression and another to authorise a demand for the suspected perpetrator's details from the internet service provider. Despite these safeguards, Spain's Internet Users Association says it will take the case to the country's Constitutional Court, if necessary.

Content providers are still reluctant to offer their wares in Spain, though the new law may help. Spaniards can download music and films from legal outlets, but these often lack the latest releases. Peer-to-peer websites have filled the void. The country imposes an indiscriminate levy on all gadgets capable of recording or storing sounds and images, but the EU has ruled this illegal and Spain says it will modify it.

Change may be slow. Many Spaniards believe that music and movies should be free. How they imagine the artists will feed themselves is anyone's guess.