ACTA up

Protests across Europe may kill an anti-piracy treaty

Feb 11th 2012 | The Economist

Polish lawmakers: anonymously united

NO SOONER was the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) signed than Kader Arif, the European Unions chief negotiator, called it a masquerade and resigned. Slovenias envoy, who signed the deal at a powwow in Japan, called her own behaviour an act of civic carelessness. Romanias prime minister (now resigned) admitted he couldnt say why his country had signed it. In Poland, where lawmakers protested by wearing Guy Fawkes masks associated with the Anonymous hacker-activist collective, the prime minister said he would suspend ratification. The Czech Republic and Slovakia (which has not signed it) later did the same.

The unusual remorse and wobbles come amid unprecedented protests against the treaty, an attempt by rich countries to protect their intellectual-property industries. Groups affiliated to Anonymous have hacked government websites. More than 1.8m people have signed an online petition. Many Poles and Swedes have demonstrated. Organisers plan protests in hundreds of European cities on February 11th. The row follows the collapse of Americas Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) which beefed up penalties on infringers. That was stalled in Congress after internet protests that included a oneday Wikipedia blackout. ACTA, signed so far by 30 states and the EU, creates an international regime for imposing civil and criminal penalties on internet piracy and counterfeiting. Critics say it could mean innocent travellers having their laptops searched for pirated music, or being jailed for carrying a generic drug. That is probably exaggerated: ACTA is intentionally vague (signatories are left to draw up precise rules themselves). But it is potentially draconian. Infringers could be liable for the total loss of potential sales (implying that everyone who buys a pirated product would have bought the real thing). It applies to unintentional use of copyright material. It puts the onus on website owners to ensure they comply with laws across several territories. It has been negotiated secretively and outside established international trade bodies (despite EU criticisms). This means it has ignored the views of other countries it will affect, chiefly emerging markets. Internet activists used to be dismissed as a bunch of hairy mouseclickers with little clout. Not any more.

11 February 2012 BBC News

Acta protests: Thousands take to streets across Europe

By Dave Lee
Technology Reporter

Marchers in London gathered outside British Music House, home to several major rights holders

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Thousands of people have taken part in co-ordinated protests across Europe in opposition to a controversial anti-piracy agreement. Significant marches were held in Germany, Poland and the Netherlands against the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (Acta). Around 200 protesters gathered in central London outside the offices of rights holder representative groups. Demonstrators argued that Acta will limit freedom of speech online. However the agreement's supporters insist it will not alter existing laws, and will instead provide protection for content creators in the
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face of increasing levels of online piracy. The treaty has to date been signed by 22 EU members, including the UK, but has yet to be ratified by the European Parliament. A debate is due to take place in June. On Friday, Germany delayed signing the agreement in order to, a spokesman said, "give us time to carry out further discussions".

'In secret'
Saturday's London demonstration was supported by the Open Rights Group, a vocal opponent to the treaty. The group's executive director, Jim Killock, argued that Germany's stance shows Acta negotiations were carried out "in secret" by EU "bureaucrats".

What is Acta?
The Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement is an international treaty aiming to standardise copyright protection measures. It seeks to curb trade of counterfeited physical goods, including copyrighted material online. Preventative measures include possible imprisonment and fines. Critics argue that it will stifle freedom of expression on the internet, and it has been likened to the controversial Stop Online Piracy Act (Sopa). Acta has been signed by 22 EU members, including the UK, but is yet to be ratified by the European Parliament.

"Three member states in Europe are now looking like they don't want to sign," he told the BBC. "That shows that politicians are only really starting to look at this now. All of a sudden, the whole thing is breaking down." Poland, the Czech Republic and Slovakia have already delayed the process after significant pressure from mostly young people. "The point today is to say Acta is undemocratic," Mr Killock added. "It's lacked scrutiny, it's setting up dangerous new pressures to censor the internet to remove users and put pressure on [Internet Service Providers] to start policing for copyright." More demonstrations were held in other UK cities, including Edinburgh and Glasgow.
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Anonymous hackers
The anti-Acta movement has also been widely adopted by members of the Anonymous activist collective, which has claimed responsibility for putting high-profile government websites out of action, including that of the Polish prime minister. Speaking at the London protest Loz Kaye, leader of the Pirate Party UK, dismissed worries that aligning closely with Anonymous - whose members carry out various illegal activities online - was harmful to their cause. "What we've seen is a whole wave of people coming out on the streets right across Europe," he told the BBC. "Some people have been called extreme, but equally, Amnesty International, Mdecins Sans Frontires have spoken out. Even The Economist, which is hardly radical, has described the treaty as potentially draconian."

'Greater transparency'
The BBC contacted several key rights holder representatives prior to the demonstration - all of which declined to comment. The UK's Intellectual Property Office has maintained that Acta "should not" mean new laws relating to internet use. In a statement, Baroness Wilcox, parliamentary under-secretary for Business, Innovation and Skills, told the BBC: "It was important for the UK to be a signatory of Acta as it will set an international standard for tackling large-scale infringements of [intellectual property rights], through the creation of common enforcement standards and more effective international cooperation. "During the negotiations, we continually pushed for greater transparency as we believed that this would have led to a better understanding of the agreement by the public."