If you're a file pirate living in the EU, you may have reason to celebrate. Juliane Kokott, Advocate General to the European Court of Justice declared today that European ISPs cannot be forced to reveal the identity behind accounts identified for sharing copyright protected material.

The statement was directed to a panel of judges mulling over the legality of a Spanish file-sharing case, and could be a harbinger of things to come in the EU. Kokott's declaration essentially asserts that although ISPs can be required to turn over identities in criminal matters, file-sharing is a civil issue and therefor doesn't enjoy the same legal privileges.