Growing Concern From European Officials Over ACTA
from the policy-laundering dept
It looks like a growing number of European politicians are fed up with the secrecy of ACTA, and don’t like what they’re hearing from the leaked documents, and they’re starting to speak up, asking questions and airing their concerns. They’re demanding the publication of the details of the negotiations, while worrying about anything that might push ISPs to kick people off the internet at a time when it’s a key European goal to increase broadband access. There’s also tremendous concern that ACTA is really a way for US companies to sneak desired legislation into Europe outside of the parliamentary process:
“ACTA is legislation laundering on an international scale, trying to covertly push through what could never be passed in most national parliaments”
The same statement pointed out that all of the lobbyists who had signed NDAs to see ACTA came from US companies and organizations — and none from the EU. It makes you wonder why any other country would agree to ACTA at all…
Filed Under: acta, copyright, europe, policy laundering, transparency
Comments on “Growing Concern From European Officials Over ACTA”
You can only squeeze so many lemons before you start making Orange Juice
Well, I’d be concerned too.
Management of creatives has always been an issue. How do they ensure the distribution company makes a profit when they’ve already depressed creatives wages almost to the standard of living?
Content industries have squeezed their lemon beyond anything that is recognizable.
If you were to rewind back to Hollywood in the 1940s, you’ll see that actors and artists lived as indentured servants. This ultimately lead to unionization, multiple guilds, as well as multiple levels of legally recognized royalties and rights, all recognized by the poor management capabilities.
Now because they’ve squeezed their own employees in creative and otherwise so hard of every last possible cent for the sake of short-term profits, they can only see one way out- Start squeezing the consumers. This is what happened with RedBox. This is what is happening elsewhere. And this is what ACTA arrangement seeks to accomplish: creating a new level bondage that expands exclusivity to the consumer.
The US Copyright System is the only system that provides negative rights to the consumer, and we who know about it in the US are pissed that it hasn’t been reformed to the point that we’re going to kick President Obama, his cronies, and Captain USTR Kirk out if he doesn’t.
There’s no reason for Europe to adhere to ACTA.
US to EU
US to EU: Shut up and sign it, bitch, before I smack you up.
Re: US to EU
As an American, I hope the EU says “Fuck off” back.
one point
if no one is allowed to know what is in ACTA how can anyone know if they break the law.
Re: one point
if no one is allowed to know what is in ACTA how can anyone know if they break the law.
Heh, I believe the idea is that everyone gets to know what it is once it’s *done* and can’t be changed.
This is the incredible thing about content business
IT’S ALREADY AN EFFICIENT BUSINESS. YOU CAN’T MAKE MORE MONEY FROM IT EXCEPT BY PROVIDING INCENTIVE FOR MORE TALENTED PEOPLE TO CREATE ART.
In the world of Youtubes and where television stations now carry several channels, this doesn’t seem to be really difficult to understand, so let me try:
Wake up! Content exists. You’re a distributor, and we taxpayers just paid for you to broadcast several channels now through the HD Conversion. So are your HD broadcast facilities that we tax payers levied for at capacity?
What’s that? “NO”?
Well then, there’s a GOD damned business opportunity just waiting for ya. Look at it before you renegotiate what the meaning of the word “is” is.
Please sir, can I have some more?
You said, ‘It makes you wonder why any other country would agree to ACTA at all… ‘
Erm, maybe because the ‘great’ US of A has become the playground bully, perfectly happy to invade… er, ‘free’ any country with oil under the surface or who disagree with their policy.
Maybe?
Online Petition for ACTA transparency:
mike allen wrote:
“if no one is allowed to know what is in ACTA how can anyone know if they break the law.”
Exactly, that’s the problem: We find leaked documents and hints, but nobody knows for sure.
That’s why it should be opened to the public!
Sign the petition at:
http://www.stopp-acta.info
Re: Online Petition for ACTA transparency:
Sorry, I don’t understand German. Is there an English version?
ACTA sucks.
EUROPEAN
I HAVE A SPECIAL MESSAGE FOR THE “EUROPEAN” THAT THE ARE DIGGING INTO . DEATH OF HAMAS ARAB MURDER .
YOU THE EUROPEAN IN HISTORY OF 2.000 YEAR OF CIVILIZATION
USE TO DISCRIMINATE AND MURDER JEWISH PEOPLE THE REASON IS VERY SIMPLE .WE ARE THE JEWS WEAK . YOU CAME TO JERUSALEM DESTROY OUR PAST ESTABLISH HATE ALL OVER THE WORLD WE THE ISRAELI DEFEND OURSELVES YOU EUROPEAN “COMMUNIST” “SOCIALIST” DONT LIKE THIS IDEA . YES ARAB TERRORIST DIE IN DUBAI SO WHAT .
THE EUROPEAN THAT USE TO MURDER AND OCCUPIED OTHER PEOPLE ARE IN ARM .
I KNOW FAR WELL THAT THE EUROPEAN LOOKING FOR ANY EXCUSE TO CUT RELATIONSHIP WITH ISRAEL THEY THERT US WITH
SANCTION IF THIS WHAT YOU WENT .GO A HEAD WE DONT AFFRAID FROM YOUR SANCTION.
Re: EUROPEAN
Yeah and that has what to do with ACTA??
PS the ALL CAPS is just plain rude.
ACTA and my protest
I would like to say that I have taken some action about ACTA. I have blogged about it a number of times, I have written to my Member of the UK Parliament, with no reply! I have read a few of the leaked documents and tr=ied to gain sime understanding of what it has in mind.
Don’t forget that this is not a new issue, the World Trade Organisation has already some agreements about IP/rights protection and ACTA is an extension of this.
We have to kick this out into the open.
ACTA so underreported, it is underreported
I thought I’d mention…
I got pinged last December to suggest “the top underreported stories of 2009” to Bill Snyder at InfoWorld.
I contributed “secrecy of the ACTA process” as my main entry to his list. Alas, it didn’t make his InforWorld Top Ten story: http://www.infoworld.com/t/tech-industry-analysis/top-underreported-tech-stories-2009-455
ACTA secrecy remains underreported.