SHARE
COPY LINK

POLITICS

Over 100 Danish lawmakers broke copyright laws on social media

Some 126 members of the Danish parliament broke copyright laws in 2022 by sharing music and images on social media without the owner’s permission.

Facebook on smart phone
File photo: Dado Ruvic/Reuters/Ritzau Scanpix

Over 1,000 instances of unauthorised use of copyrighted materials by Danish MPS occurred in 2022, newspaper Politiken reports based on research it conducted in collaboration with law professor Sten Schaumburg-Müller of the University of Southern Denmark.

The politicians who breached copyright came from eight different parliamentary parties, the analysis found.

When sharing images on platforms such as social media, the poster needs permission from the person who has the rights to the image. This is usually the person who took the photo or created the image in question.

According to Politiken’s count, a Danish member of parliament shared a photo without permission from the copyright holder on 956 occasions.

The remaining 94 occasions involve breaches of music copyright according to the analysis. In these instances, the politician has a special obligation to receive permission for using music on their social media accounts.

While private individuals can use music in the background of their posts, politicians are required to ask for permission according to copyright expert Morten Rosenmeier, a professor at the University of Copenhagen.

“If you are a musician and supporter of a specific political view, it might feel offensive if a politician with completely different views than those you stand for uses your music to promote their political interests,” he told Politiken.

The newspaper documented the copyright breaches by contacting either the responsible politician or the copyright holder.

Several of the politicians who breached copyright laws last year have subsequently deleted the offending posts, according to the report.

Member comments

Log in here to leave a comment.
Become a Member to leave a comment.

POLITICS

Denmark’s Social Democrats overtaken by left-wing ally in new poll

The Socialist People’s Party (Socialistisk Folkeparti, SF) has become the party with the most support in Denmark for the first time in a new opinion poll.

Denmark’s Social Democrats overtaken by left-wing ally in new poll

A new poll from Voxmeter places SF as Denmark’s largest party, should it be replicated in an election vote, with an 18.8 percent share of the vote.

The Social Democrats, traditionally the largest party on the left, received 18.4 percent in the poll. That represents a large drop in support compared to the 2022 general election, when the Social Democrats gained 27.5 percent and went into coalition government with two parties on the right of centre.

The poll result for SF gives it a share 8.3 percent larger than it gained in 2022 and continues the centre-left group’s recent success after becoming the largest Danish party in the EU parliament in the EU elections this month.

Speaking on EU election night, SF leader Pia Olsen Dyhr said the party’s excellent result could be used as a “catalyst” for a new political landscape in Denmark.

The EU election result can fuel further gains for SF when the next general election comes around, Dyhr said in the midst of her party’s celebrations.

“There’s an alternative to this government. There’s an alternative that wants [more] welfare and [to do more for] the climate and we are willing to deliver this in the EU parliament,” she told broadcaster DR.

“It gives us a tailwind and enthusiasm for the party and it means people will be even more ready for local elections next year and the general election further ahead,” she said.

READ ALSO: ANALYSIS: Is left-wing party’s EU election win good news for foreigners in Denmark?

Another notable observation from the poll is that is the worst for the Social Democrats since the 2022 election and since Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen became the party’s leader in 2015.

In 2013, when former leader Helle Thorning-Schmidt was prime minister, the party’s polls dropped as low as 15.8 percent, but they recovered after Frederiksen took over to win the 2019 election.

The other two parties in the coalition government – the Moderates and Liberals (Venstre) – are also struggling in opinion polls.

The new poll gives the Liberals 9.7 percent – compared to 14.7 percent at the EU election and 23.5 percent in 2019.

For the Moderates, the 6.5 percent polling is better than the 5.9 percent achieved by the party in the EU election, but less than the 9.3 percent it gained in 2023.

SHOW COMMENTS