Europeans Take to the Streets to Protest ACTA
Demonstrators believe ACTA will result in censorship and affect free speech.
Thousands of people across Europe took the streets this past weekend in anti-ACTA rallies. According to the BBC, significant marches against ACTA were held in Germany, Poland, and the Netherlands, while 200 protesters gathered in central London to voice their opinions. Those against ACTA believe that the agreement will harm free speech and that it is designed with only content creators in mind.
The Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement has been largely criticized and garnered international attention following the high-profile anti-SOPA and anti-PIPA demonstrations earlier this year. ACTA has already been signed by numerous countries, including the United States (which signed it last October), and 22 EU member states. However, though the list of countries that have signed the agreement is long, it has not yet been ratified by any country.
The good news is that word from the Anti-ACTA camp finally seems to be getting through. The BBC reports that Germany last week revealed it would be delaying its signing of the agreement in order to "carry out further discussions." Similarly, Poland, the Czech Republic, and Slovakia have already delayed the process in their countries following pressure from Anti-ACTA supporters. What's more, ZDNet UK today reports that the president of the European Parliament has said that ACTA doesn't offer adequate protection for the rights of internet users in its current form.
"The necessary balance of... protection of copyright on the one hand, and [protection of] users' fundamental rights on the other, is not sufficiently established in this agreement. So, I think it's not good in its current form," he is quoted as saying.
Unfortunately, ACTA was finalized in November of 2010, following three years of development, so it can't be altered anymore.
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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qlFyoEKV0dE
GO POLAND
Then cancel it, you hypocrites who keep ranting about "democracy". People don't want this crap, so STFU and get rid of it.
Please, Germany, don't sign ACTA
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WJIuYgIvKsc
Same garbage like the SOPA and PIPA!! Beware!
If it is enacted, the airport security could go through the content of your cellphone, your laptop ... + any storage drives including CD/DVD disc's that u have burned at home, we would just loose the privacy.
And if u own a dvd movie disc and u are going to fly, they can make u delete the movie or u will not board the plane! Same with music, u would have to prove that all the songs in your iPod are legal, or ...
Who would want to be subject to that. Not me.
Then cancel it, you hypocrites who keep ranting about "democracy". People don't want this crap, so STFU and get rid of it.
The problem is that european socialism is not "democracy" in any way shape or form. Here you get shouted down by the left, over there you get fined for speaking your mind. We are well on our way there though.
wtf with the 4 word letter finishing with 'a'. Sopa, pipa, acta , Dicka ?
Ridiculous times. Cant fart without someone putting a patent or trademark on it.
without sopa, pipa, and acta how will the big media companies keep from losing that trillions of dollars they claim they lose...
doesnt each download = like $10,000
The problem is that european socialism is not "democracy" in any way shape or form. Here you get shouted down by the left, over there you get fined for speaking your mind. We are well on our way there though.
But they claim to be. So do the US.
While this is going on, secret meetings about the TPP are being held in Hollywood. The MPAA and RIAA just won't rest until they control the internet..
I hate to nitpick on grammar, but this is the title of a news article.
In Slovenia there were already the protests and several sites hacked by Anonymous.
ACTA sux, as the bureaucraps do !
Im not saying ready the molotovs.....but when has peaceful protest changed anything.
Germany came out last week and said outright they won't sign it. Since the EU requires all 22 memember states to ratify, ACTA is DOA.
The problem is that european socialism is not "democracy" in any way shape or form. Here you get shouted down by the left, over there you get fined for speaking your mind. We are well on our way there though.
How about the 'democracy' in the USA where you can become President even if you do not have the majority of votes...
I hate to nitpick on grammar, but this is the title of a news article.
I know, I'm sorry! Slip of the pinky finger. Should be fixed now.
I joined those protests. Full of cops around. They were treating us like we were nazis but in reality we were just a bunch of nerds and other concerned citizens making a very peaceful protest.
It's impressing how much lobby this crap has. It's like fighting the entire world alone.
I just hope anonymous can help.
If it is enacted, the airport security could go through the content of your cellphone, your laptop ... + any storage drives including CD/DVD disc's that u have burned at home, we would just loose the privacy.And if u own a dvd movie disc and u are going to fly, they can make u delete the movie or u will not board the plane! Same with music, u would have to prove that all the songs in your iPod are legal, or ... Who would want to be subject to that. Not me.
People who have stakes in the media industry?
But they would probably hire lawyers when a CEO's stash of "strongly sexually suggestive" pictures are dug up from his laptop at the airport and somehow end up on Facebook or Twitter...
How about the 'democracy' in the USA where you can become President even if you do not have the majority of votes...
the peoples voice means nothing, every vote the people submit doesn't have to be taken seriously, we vote for people in an electoral collage and if they want their job, they vote with the people... some states force them to vote with the people many dont...
-------
side note, america already signed it, correct, can we back out?
if the internet loses any functionality to me, i will cancel it and my phone. i will stop upgrading my computer as it collects dust.
i simply do not listen to music or watch tv or movies, and i have hobbies other than overclocking, benchmarks, and vertical shooters. the money i would save by not buying new hardware all the time would let me do even more stuff.
fuck the internet. its already nothing but ads anyway. i can't wait for some corporation to deal the final blow to it to make it a complete waste of my time.
the peoples voice means nothing, every vote the people submit doesn't have to be taken seriously, we vote for people in an electoral collage and if they want their job, they vote with the people... some states force them to vote with the people many dont... -------side note, america already signed it, correct, can we back out?
Were you there signing it? I wasn't. I never got that email. Must have been a plugged up tube on teh intarwebs! Oh well, at least Congress looked it over carefully and signed it. Oops no they didn't - Congress was bypassed entirely.
What you mean to say is that the President signed it. Ah well, at least he did it in full transparency, and wasn't working behind closed doors on a secret document. Then he only signed it after carefully considering what was in the best interest of the American public. Oops again!
So yeah, we can back out... when he's out of office! If he gets re-elected I fully expect him to don the purple robes.
Quick fact of the day! Did you know that every roll of toilet paper in the White House has the United States Constitution printed on it?
I know, I'm sorry! Slip of the pinky finger. Should be fixed now.
Thanks. Sorry I had to be the whiny guy. :-P
Now is the time for the ONE WORLD GOVERNMENT idiots to take notice. How would anyone protest such idiocracy when the people responsible for it are no longer accountable to us?
So, who in the US signed the thing? Maybe it's time to bring back tar and feathering.
it's complete bullshit... the media praise it and make opposing people look like criminals to the average Joe who doesn't care saying that they just want everything for free. That's not true... It's about how law works. If you accuse someone of something YOU have to prove it. If ACTA gets through this changes and the accused has to prove that they didn't do anything illegal and how's that different from repressive regimes like in the middle east or the third Reich? And what for? Because the content-nazis aren't just greedy but also too dumb to monetize one of the most effective and cheap distribution platforms. ACTA isn't good for content-creators either, as it's always stated. It's good for content-OWNERS and those are - these days - the biggest society-destroying scum that exists on this planet...
And you all had a little smile watching SF post apocaliptical movies with all the world enslaved by a huge corporation that eventually ended up with 1 guy fighting the big corporation saving mankind ... prepare your shotguns ! and who knows maybe soon some pharaceutical corporation will give you the long awayted zombie apocalypse too ! The human kind must let go of the monney and find other means of work payment ... this thing is going nowhere .. big corporations want more and more monney .. and we have to pay for some old fart holdin tens of bilions of dolars and he wants even more calling us thieves for downloading an mp3.
The people spoke and somehow convinced Congress here in the USA to not pass this, it was a pretty good victory. After that, someone seems to be trying to get those laws enacted anyway, regardless of how the majority of people whom actually know about this say it shouldn't be done.
What happened to the people controlling their own nation? Wasn't the USA founded on such a principle? It seems greed and corruption has penetrated into our bureaucracy far deeper than should be possible.
This question remains: will we do something about this and if we do, what will it be?
The problem is that european socialism is not "democracy" in any way shape or form. Here you get shouted down by the left, over there you get fined for speaking your mind. We are well on our way there though.
You also don't know what socialism is. Socialism is not related to democracy. Socialism is an economic system, not a political system. Socialism is related to capitalism (US) and communism(China). Also, you need to cite which countries get "fined" for speaking their mind. Not all European countries are the same.
Oh shame these poor poor people losing some money. Now the wankers at MPAA can't afford that 5th Lamborghini they've wanted. You know the blue one with the racing stripes.
They just want to turn the Internet into something that they own. Governments are stupid - I wouldn't be surprised if there were payouts all over the place for government officials who pushed the signing of this crap.
This is like saying your dog shat on my lawn once or twice now I'll kill your dog and reposes your house!