"At a meeting of Polish Government officials with Polish NGOs and business representatives it was confirmed that the European Union is poised to sign the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement
as soon as January 26th. But all is not lost. The Treaty still needs to
be ratified by the Euro Parliament and member states individually. The
ratification vote is important, as it is an either-or vote — if not
ratified there, ACTA gets rejected in its entirety. The Ministry of
Administration and Digitization is not amused and has asked the Prime
Minister (who promised this May to hold ACTA adoption until the kinks are worked out) to cancel the signing authorization for the time being."
Say no to ACTA
If you are scared and angry of SOPA AND PIPA,
then guess what? We have another enemy,ACTA. The Anti-Counterfeiting
Trade Act establishes international standards on intellectual property
rights. It includes counterfeit goods, generic medicines, and copyright
infringement on the Internet. ACTA would create a separate governing
body outside of existing international organizations, including WTO
(World Trade Organization), WIPO (World Intellectual Property
Organization) and the UN (United Nations). It is proposed by Japan and
is already signed last October 11, 2011 by the United States, Australia,
Canada, Japan, Morocco, New Zealand, South Korea, and Singapore. The
European Union, Mexico, and Switzerland did not sign but attended the
meeting showing their support to ACTA. But it has been reported that EU
will be signing on January 26.
This was done in secret, and so some of us found out about this when drafts were leaked.
The shutdown of Megaupload is our taste of what ACTA can do to the
Internet. It’s not only SOPA or PIPA that is going to break the
internet, ACTA will be the endgame.
Five facts:
1. ACTA isn’t the “European” SOPA. It’s nearly GLOBAL, and will apply to every country that signs the treaty.
2. ACTA is far more aggressive. ACTA will not simply affect websites
and have them blocked out of the internet – its measures go as far as
surveillance of anything you share through private channels.
3. ACTA doesn’t have a campaign against it that is as wide-spread and
organized as the SOPA one. This is DANGEROUS, as there’s less time
between now and the final signing of ACTA.
4. ACTA has effects on healthcare, trade, and even tourism.
5. ACTA has to be stopped.
