EU ACTA Approval Postponed For Now

Last week, the European Union suspended attempts to ratify the international anti-counterfeiting treaty ACTA and asked Europe’s high court to see if the controversial proposal violates any fundamental EU rights. Those who drafted ACTA, the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement, say that it is necessary to “harmonize international standards to protect the rights” of those who create not only music and movies, but also a number of other protects that are frequent victims of piracy and intellectual property theft, such as pharmaceuticals and fashion goods. But opponents fear that ACTA could lead to censorship and a loss of privacy rights, which were similar fears of many in the US who rallied against two anti-piracy bills, SOPA and PIPA, that have been stopped earlier this year.

Under ACTA, internet providers would have to cooperate with governments to crack down on online piracy, via measures such as cutting off internet access for those who have illegally downloaded music or other files.

The European council had unanimously approved ACTA last December and EU and the 22 EU member states signed the treaty on January 26 in Tokyo, but all 27 member countries of the EU must sign the treaty if the EU is to be a formal member of it. Germany, Poland, Bulgaria, Slovakia, Latvia, Estonia, Cyprus, the Czech Republic and the Netherlands are now opposed to ACTA. Australia, Canada, Japan, Morocco, New Zealand, Singapore, South Korea and the US have signed ACTA; Mexico and Switzerland have not yet signed but have participated in negotiations about the treaty.

Note EU-Digest: ACTA in either its present or possibly modified form must not be accepted by members of the European Union because it is in violation of European and national laws.

Read more: http://www.care2.com/causes/acta-approval-postponed-for-now-does-the-treaty-violate-eu-rights.html#ixzz1nbORsB6m


For more: ACTA Approval Postponed For Now | Care2 Causes

Internet: Innovate or Legislate ? - by Reihan Salam & Patrick Ruffini

"A McKinsey Global Institute study published last spring found that, worldwide, 2 billion people were connected to the Internet and almost $8 trillion exchanged hands via e-commerce. The United States captures 30 percent of all the revenues generated by the global Internet economy, and 40 percent of the net income. Moreover, the Internet has been a powerful driver of economic growth and job creation. In a survey of small and medium-sized enterprises, McKinsey found that for every job destroyed by the Internet, 2.6 were created. In the advanced countries that were included in the survey, the United States among them, Internet consumption and expenditure accounted for 21 percent of economic growth over the past few years.

For now, the Internet represents the great exception to the rising tide of state-guided capitalism, in which government favors politically connected firms and industries. As Ian Bremmer observes in his ominous book The End of the Free Market, the governments of the world’s rising economies seek to dominate key economic sectors. The global markets for energy, aviation, shipping, power generation, arms production, telecommunications, metals, minerals, petrochemicals, and much else are increasingly being manipulated by state-owned enterprises and sovereign wealth funds."

Note EU-Digest: It is quite obvious that many Governments supported by their corporate "friends" will do everything in their power to legislate controls over the Internet. They are doing this for a variety of reasons, mainly based on their self interest and perpetual survival. No difference in this respect between Capitalist, Communist or Dictatorial Governments. All one has to do is to look at some of the most recent developments on this issue. These included;  the Google, Facebook censorship actions, the US Federal Government Internet Piracy proposal, and the EU ACTA  proposal. These are all infringements on human rights and specifically the freedom of expression and must not be tolerated.

For more: Innovate or Legislate - Reihan Salam & Patrick Ruffini - National Review Online

Free Speech: Iran says it can block ‘Internet in a suitcase’ program aimed at dissidents

Iran’s intelligence minister (showing the true colors of his countries regime of repression of free speech and human rights) said Friday that his country has found a way to block the so-called “Internet in a suitcase,” a program reportedly developed by the U.S. to bring online access to dissidents around the world.

The minister, Heidar Moslehi, told Muslim worshippers that Iran was aware of the program from the start. “We prepared a solution for it,” he said in a speech broadcast live on state radio. He did not elaborate.

For more: Iran says it can block ‘Internet in a suitcase’ program aimed at dissidents - The Washington Post