The Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement raises crucial questions about Internet users’...
The Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement raises crucial questions about Internet users’ rights and the development of the digital economy, French advocacy group La Quadrature du Net said in letters to the European Parliament Industry (ITRE) and Civil Liberties (LIBE) Committees Monday.…
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With lawmakers about to be asked to consent to the accord, La Quadrature asked the panels to weigh in. To LIBE, La Quadrature argued that ACTA’s digital provisions open the door for “yet another attack” on users’ rights “in the name of an obsolete copyright regime.” It told ITRE that ACTA goes beyond current EU law on border measures, damages and criminal sanctions, provisions that will create legal uncertainty for businesses operating in the EU and undermine goals such as development of the digital economy and deployment of green technologies. ISPs and other stakeholders, including civil society and consumer organizations, “continue to raise awareness” about concerns they have with some ACTA provisions, said European Internet Services Providers’ Association Head of Policy Andrea D'Incecco. One key ISP concern is that ACTA introduces criminal penalties for intellectual property rights enforcement although there’s no similar legislation in the EU, which will limit democratic decision-making to what’s in the agreement, he said. Another worry is that the accord promotes cooperative efforts within the business community to address copyright infringements, he said. That could be an attempt to create a system where private entities such as ISPs are forced to monitor and police the content of users’ communications, he said. A third concern is that ACTA introduces a new body, the ACTA Committee, that can amend the agreement, but without specifying under which obligations (such as openness and transparency) it would act or if public scrutiny would be permitted, he said. European Parliament approval means it agrees that the ACTA committee can, in the future, bring in stringent provisions or additional obligations, even if not in line with the EU body of law, without any further say-so from lawmakers, he said. If ACTA is referred to Parliament’s Legal Affairs Committee for an opinion on whether it aligns with EU Community Law, any further action could depend on this opinion, an Internet industry source said.