News

ACTA gets shot down in flames at the European Parliament

Today in the European Parliament the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) was comprehensively destroyed with 478 votes against and just 39 for. The agreement which threatened global internet freedoms faced substantial amounts of public resistance and outcry before inevitably falling from a somewhat tarnished grace.

Awareness of attempts to censor the internet were first raised by SOPA in January. SOPA faced large resistance in the USA and it was eventually shot down, the American public stated it would not stand for the greed of American media corporations. The anger and activism from SOPA carried over quite comfortably to ACTA, since many of the global community were already against SOPA it was now easy for Europeans to move their focus to something closer to home.

With ACTA in Europe now impossible, it seems the agreement will probably fizzle out all across the world too. There are only a handful of countries left where ACTA could become a possibility. Ten states are still negotiating it and six states have yet to ratify it. Yet the important message is that without European support ACTA cannot be viable given Europe’s prominent position in the world.

Copyright legislation never sleeps. The European Commissioner responsible for the treaty, Karel de Gucht has said that he will continue to present revised versions of ACTA before the European Parliament until it passes. Although it is unlikely he will ever be allowed to do this, it is important that all users of the internet, yes you, remain vigilant of new attempts to censor the internet. Only by public awareness, cooperation and activism can we make sure that censorship does not become a reality.

Source

Ryan Martin

Disqus Comments Loading...

Recent Posts

MSI PRO MP161 E2 15.6″ Full HD 60Hz IPS Portable Monitor

15.6" PRO MP161 E2 monitor is a portable solution for on-the-go productivity. Users can connect…

36 seconds ago

Thermaltake 360mm TH360 ARGB All In One CPU Water Cooler

The Thermaltake TH360 ARGB Sync is a vibrant all-in-one liquid cooler which offers three 120mm…

2 mins ago

Montech METAL DT24 BASE Intel/AMD Performance CPU Air Cooler

This cooler is configured with 2 METAL 120 PWM fans, whose 6-pole motor and maximum…

4 mins ago

Corsair Vengeance RGB PRO SL Black 16GB 3600MHz DDR4 Memory Kit

CORSAIR VENGEANCE RGB PRO SL DDR4 memory lights up your PC while delivering peak performance…

5 mins ago

Corsair ML120 LED ELITE 120mm Blue LED Fan Single

The CORSAIR ML120 LED ELITE Blue Premium 120mm PWM Magnetic Levitation Fan boasts CORSAIR AirGuide…

6 mins ago

GIPOYENT TV Light Strip

【Colorful Light Colors】: TV LED backlight has 16 million colors and can be installed behind…

10 mins ago