Dutch Parliament Rejects ACTA On Human Rights Violations

The controversial ACTA treaty is quickly losing support in Europe.

After a handful of countries already backed off last week, The Netherlands and Bulgaria put their decisions of hold today.

A majority of the Dutch Parliament is against the ratification of ACTA. In Bulgaria, where more than 10,000 people took the streets in Sofia last Saturday to protest the treaty, Economy Minister Traicho Traikov announced that the country will not ratify ACTA before other EU countries have made up their minds.

For more: Dutch Parliament Rejects ACTA On Human Rights Violations | TorrentFreak

Europe's Internet revolt: protesters see threats in antipiracy treaty

Despite freezing conditions across much of the Continent, thousands are expected to the streets of European cities today – but the protests aren't about austerity measures, bailouts, or the Middle East. They are about an obscure international copyright agreement that protesters say threatens free speech online and the future of the Internet.

ACTA, the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement, follows the now-delayed US legislation Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) and Protect IP Act (PIPA). Proponents say the agreement will protect the economic value of intellectual and artistic labor and create a framework to enforce existing laws. Opponents counter that it forces Internet service providers (ISPs) to police users, threatening individual freedom. Confusion reigns: previous drafts of ACTA would have required ISPs to disconnect users who repeatedly downloaded copyrighted material without permission, but the most recent versions leave the question of ISPs' legal liability to the participating countries.

Other controversial measures, such as searches for counterfeit goods at border crossings, which many feared would apply to the contents of laptops and MP3 players, are restricted to commercial goods shipping. (To read the document, click here

For more: Europe's Internet revolt: protesters see threats in antipiracy treaty - CSMonitor.com

Censorship Wars: Anonymous Hackers Turn Attention to Europe's Acta - by Allastair Stevenson

"PEOPLE SHOULD NOT BE AFRAID OF THEIR GOVERNMENTS - GOVERNMENTS SHOULD BE AFRAID OF THEIR PEOPLE"

Following its high profile protest against the US' Sopa and Pipa acts, the hacker cell of Anonymous has shifted its focus onto Europe's Acta.

Little is currently known about the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (Acta) past that it aims to establish international standards on the enforcement of intellectual property. Currently being ratified by the European Union, numerous member states including Ireland have already joined the US, Australia, Korea, New Zealand, Mexico, Jordan, Morocco, Singapore, the United Arab Emirates and Canada in supporting Acta.

For more: Censorship Wars: Anonymous Hackers Turn Attention to Europe's Acta - International Business Times

Internet: ACTA protests erupt in Poland - by Melissa Bell

It’s not every day parliamentary members identify themselves with a subversive Internet group. But that’s just what happened in Poland when lawmakers from the leftist party Palikot’s Movement covered their faces with Guy Fawkes masks, the look that has become shorthand for Anonymous. A contentious fight broke out in parliament — and in the streets — over Poland's plans to sign the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA).

ACTA is meant to set international standards for violations of intellectual-property laws, but opponents fear it could lead to censorship online. The United States signed the agreement last year, along with Canada and South Korea. For the past week, the agreement has stirred a battle online after the European Union started to consider joining.

On Thursday, Poland and 21 other European Union members signed the treaty. There are similarities between ACTA and the recently tabled Stop Online Piracy Act that U.S. Internet companies protested two weeks ago with a blackout.

For more: ACTA protests erupt in Poland - BlogPost - The Washington Post