Pirate Party gets German Parliament seat too

Follows European parliament success

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22 June 2009 16:32 GMT / By Duncan Geere

2 weeks after gaining 230,000 votes in the European parliament elections in Sweden, the German wing of the copyright activism organisation has scored a similar victory.

German politician Jörg Tauss has defected from the Social Democratic Party to the Pirate Party, and therefore granted the party a seat in Germany's Federal parliament.

Tauss decided to switch allegiances after unsuccessfully fighting against a law to establish internet censorship in Germany. The censorship, which will initially apply just to child pornography, is being considered for expansion in other areas.

Tauss is currently under investigation over allegations that he was improperly in possession of child porn images, but claims that the images were sent to him during an investigation into the subculture for government work.

That hasn't stopped the Pirate Party putting out a statement welcoming him and saying that he's “one of the most experienced politicians in the areas of education, research and new media".

Charges are due to be brought within a few weeks, according to the prosecutor. If found guilty, it could prove embarrassing for the Pirate Party, who aim to reduce censorship of the Internet and reform copyright.

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