For those of you unaware of the Pirate Party, then let me present it to you. The Pirate Party is a real party in Sweden, founded in 2006, and it tries to offer a different view on copyright, patents, privacy online and in day to day life and transparency. Since 2006 it grew more and more and now it has scored a really impressive victory in the European Union parliament elections. The party gained 7.1% of the Swedish votes which translate into at least one seat in the future European parliament and possibly one more.

Pirate Party leader Rick Falkvinge had this to say about the outcome:

We’ve felt the wind blow in our sails. We’ve seen the polls prior to the election. But to stand here, today, and see the figures coming up on that screen… What do you want me to say? I’ll say anything

Together, we have today changed the landscape of European politics. No matter how this night ends, we have changed it. This feels wonderful. The citizens have understood it’s time to make a difference. The older politicians have taken apart young peoples’ lifestyle, bit by bit. We do not accept that the authorities’ mass-surveillance.

How will a couple of voices influence current worldwide political trends? How will that influence the European policy on downloads and privacy? We will just have to wait and see.

via torrentfreak

The U.S. votes this week and what the people will choose for the next four to eight years will have a deep impact on the country’s near future. The way the president will implement his governing plan will influence lots of aspects of American daily life and, dare I say, some aspects of worldwide daily life. Basically what the president says goes! And what goes will surely have a certain influence on how the tech world will evolve. Above you can see Obama sharing his views on Tech Policy. We’d like to see what McCain has to say on the same issues.

If you happen to be involved in any way in the tech world, what do you think the new president’s tech policy should be?

via TechCrunch