Words like pirates and anti-pirates are becoming common features in the cultural political debate of today, and the file-sharing phenomenon has become a more and more delicate and disputed subject. The fact that people are organizing in networks to swap computerfiles with each other has, among other things, led film and music companies from all over the world to initiate a number of anti-piracy organizations, assigned to protect the right to culture and information. The industrial organization Antipiratbyrån (the Anti-pirate Bureau) and the network Piratbyrån (the Pirate Bureau) have on several occasions been used to represent the prevailing conflict in Sweden. The purpose of this study is to apply a sociological perspective to the collective act of file sharing. Additionally, the purpose is to argue that the activity can be understood as a social movement, although it is rarely referred to as such. By focusing on the distinctly organized part of the file-sharing movement, the goal has principally been to answer how the collective action and the conveyance of knowledge, that is taking place within the movement, can be understood and which the fundamental ideas are. The study has its starting point in theories about the cognitive praxis – or core identity – of social movements. Among the methods used, interviews with representatives from Piratbyrån were valuable tools, but also other sources, like the Piratbyrån website and forum along with their participation in the media, have been the basis of the analysis. This led to a few conclusions worth considering. The most important result of the study is that it is relevant to talk about a new social movement. This movement is above all characterized by individual autonomy, expressed in a fundametal belief in the individual and some kind of “egoistic” solidarity. Closely connected to this is the everyday practice that makes the existence of the movement possible. The conclusion of the study is that the use of the technology is experienced as a political act, associated by the activists to a decentralization of power and control. Therefore, any restraint of the technology is also experienced as a restraint of man’s autonomy.

<p>Words like pirates and anti-pirates are becoming common features in the cultural political debate of today, and the file-sharing phenomenon has become a more and more delicate and disputed subject. The fact that people are organizing in networks to swap computerfiles with each other has, among other things, led film and music companies from all over the world to initiate a number of anti-piracy organizations, assigned to protect the right to culture and information. The industrial organization Antipiratbyrån (the Anti-pirate Bureau) and the network Piratbyrån (the Pirate Bureau) have on several occasions been used to represent the prevailing conflict in Sweden. The purpose of this study is to apply a sociological perspective to the collective act of file sharing. Additionally, the purpose is to argue that the activity can be understood as a social movement, although it is rarely referred to as such. By focusing on the distinctly organized part of the file-sharing movement, the goal has principally been to answer how the collective action and the conveyance of knowledge, that is taking place within the movement, can be understood and which the fundamental ideas are. The study has its starting point in theories about the cognitive praxis – or core identity – of social movements. Among the methods used, interviews with representatives from Piratbyrån were valuable tools, but also other sources, like the Piratbyrån website and forum along with their participation in the media, have been the basis of the analysis. This led to a few conclusions worth considering. The most important result of the study is that it is relevant to talk about a new social movement. This movement is above all characterized by individual autonomy, expressed in a fundametal belief in the individual and some kind of “egoistic” solidarity. Closely connected to this is the everyday practice that makes the existence of the movement possible. The conclusion of the study is that the use of the technology is experienced as a political act, associated by the activists to a decentralization of power and control. Therefore, any restraint of the technology is also experienced as a restraint of man’s autonomy.</p>

<p>Internet har som ny informationsteknik fört med sig nya möjligheter för informationsspridning. Dessa möjligheter har anammats av människor världen över och information sprids i högre omfattning än någonsin. Uppsatsen tar upp en typ av informationsspridning, fildelning. Målet har varit att undersöka frågor som varför och på vilka grunder organisationerna Piratbyrån, Piratpartiet, Antipiratbyrån och IFPI agerar efter. Diskursteori är det verktyg som användes för att analysera materialet till uppsatsen som är insamlat på ovanstående organisationers hemsidor. Uppsatsens teori baseras i stor del på sociala rörelser och appliceras på organisationerna Piratbyrån och Piratpartiet. Organisationerna ses som en del av en motståndsrörelse mot kulturindustrin som i uppsatsen representeras av Antipiratbyrån och IFPI. De två sidorna agerar i två olika diskurser där synen på intellektuell egendom är nästintill motsatta. Piratpartiet och Piratbyrån arbetar främst med att skaffa folkligt stöd för sina åsikter medan Antipiratbyrån och IFPI söker sig till högre instanser för att uppnå sina mål. Kampen mellan sidorna är långt ifrån över, den civila olydnaden ökar samtidigt som energin som läggs på bevarandet av upphovsrätten bara växer.</p>

Internet har som ny informationsteknik fört med sig nya möjligheter för informationsspridning. Dessa möjligheter har anammats av människor världen över och information sprids i högre omfattning än någonsin. Uppsatsen tar upp en typ av informationsspridning, fildelning. Målet har varit att undersöka frågor som varför och på vilka grunder organisationerna Piratbyrån, Piratpartiet, Antipiratbyrån och IFPI agerar efter. Diskursteori är det verktyg som användes för att analysera materialet till uppsatsen som är insamlat på ovanstående organisationers hemsidor. Uppsatsens teori baseras i stor del på sociala rörelser och appliceras på organisationerna Piratbyrån och Piratpartiet. Organisationerna ses som en del av en motståndsrörelse mot kulturindustrin som i uppsatsen representeras av Antipiratbyrån och IFPI. De två sidorna agerar i två olika diskurser där synen på intellektuell egendom är nästintill motsatta. Piratpartiet och Piratbyrån arbetar främst med att skaffa folkligt stöd för sina åsikter medan Antipiratbyrån och IFPI söker sig till högre instanser för att uppnå sina mål. Kampen mellan sidorna är långt ifrån över, den civila olydnaden ökar samtidigt som energin som läggs på bevarandet av upphovsrätten bara växer.

<p>Recent development of the internet encompasses elements such as social networks, blogs and wikis. With the help of these elements, popularly gathered under the umbrella term web 2.0, the pirates supporting file sharing have made the file sharing debate a national concern in Sweden.</p><p>This thesis studies the pirates’ and anti-pirates’ use of PR by qualitative case studies of organizations representing the two different sides in the debate. The use of PR by the different organizations is compared, the differences and similarities are considered and characteristics of the new PR are brought to attention.</p><p>The study finds that PR is taking a new direction and that these new ways to use PR are important to achieve success in influencing opinion. The two sides use PR in very different ways where the anti-pirates use more traditional ways of PR while the pirates make use of new PR methods virtually exclusively.</p>

Recent development of the internet encompasses elements such as social networks, blogs and wikis. With the help of these elements, popularly gathered under the umbrella term web 2.0, the pirates supporting file sharing have made the file sharing debate a national concern in Sweden. This thesis studies the pirates’ and anti-pirates’ use of PR by qualitative case studies of organizations representing the two different sides in the debate. The use of PR by the different organizations is compared, the differences and similarities are considered and characteristics of the new PR are brought to attention. The study finds that PR is taking a new direction and that these new ways to use PR are important to achieve success in influencing opinion. The two sides use PR in very different ways where the anti-pirates use more traditional ways of PR while the pirates make use of new PR methods virtually exclusively.