Stop ACTA!

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Stop ACTA!

The Netherlands imposed this week a delay in the ratification of the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement, also known as ACTA, as the people in the country and across the continent protest the controversial document and accuse it of limiting the freedom of expression on the internet.
According to Radio Netherlands, the lower house of the parliament on Tuesday backed a motion of the Green Left that was calling on the government to delay the ratification of the document.
The lawmakers demanded more clarity on the implication of ACTA on the privacy of the Internet users. One of the concerns were that the Internet Service Providers (ISPs) will have to hand over information about users that infringe the copyright without first obtaining a court order. This is said by them to potentially destroy the freedom on the internet.
The media freedom representative for the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe Dunja Mijatovic urged on Tuesday the European Parliament to reject ACTA. Mijatovic said that ACTA had a detrimental effect on freedom of expression and free flow of information in the digital age.
She said her major concern was that the system “would authorize online service providers to disclose information about alleged copyright infringers without a court order and a right to appeal, placing the decision outside the judicial frame.
European Commissions conversely says that the legal obligations of the ISP do not change ACTA. A memorandum was struck in Brussels between ISPs and right holders last year, and was signed by Internet companies such as Microsoft, eBay or Amazon and right holders like Motion Picture Association.
According to the memorandum, the identity and contact details of the alleged infringers and their user names would be disclosed “insofar as permitted by applicable laws,” which in some countries may require the demand of a court order.
The Netherland’s move to delay the signing of the ACTA document comes at a time when many countries in Europe decided to do the same. Bulgaria announced on Wednesday that it would not ratify the document until the reservations regarding the possibility of spying on the users.
Bulgarian authorities were told by the experts that there are no serious consequences for the country, if Bulgaria goes back on its signature on that treaty, given by most of the countries in Tokyo, Japan.
The Minister of Justice in Lithuania also condemned ACTA as a form of restricting the freedom on the internet. He demanded that the IP rights system be re-evaluated.
In Poland the ratification is also put on hold, as the government is reviewing its stance on the ACTA legislation. The move comes after large protests in the major cities, which gathered hundreds of thousands of people.
In Romania, a prominent leader of the opposition, which is likely to come to power following general elections in November, promised that the ACTA provisions will not be enforced on the Romanian territory even if the coalition in power ratifies it.
ACTA was signed by 22 European nations members of the European Union, and by other major countries, such as the United States, Canada, Australia or Japan. The document is supported by the entertainment industry, and by other copyright holders, such as the pharmaceutical companies.

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