ACTA Is Effectively Dead

[Yassen]

ACTA is effectively dead, the European Commissioner for the Digital Agenda admitted Friday. An official spokesman said the ?political reality? was the fight was over.

Neelie Kroes, speaking at a conference in Berlin, told delegates: ?We have recently seen how many thousands of people are willing to protest against rules which they see as constraining the openness and innovation of the Internet.

?This is a strong new political voice. And as a force for openness, I welcome it, even if I do not always agree with everything it says on every subject.

?We are now likely to be in a world without SOPA and without ACTA.?

Her spokesman agreed that while Ms. Kroes never said ACTA was dead, the ?political reality? is that it is.

The move is a tacit recognition that the controversial treaty, which saw thousands take to the streets in protest, is no more. The agreement requires ratification by all parties as well as the European Parliament. That now looks highly unlikely.

Three of the four main parliamentary groups have already come out against ACTA. ?Acta does not provide a good balance between the protection of intellectual property rights and fundamental freedoms,? group president Guy Verhofstadt has said. With support from the socialists and greens it was unlikely that the European Parliament would back the treaty.

Parliament?s largest group, the EPP, has not taken a position.

The European Commission agreed last month to refer the treaty to European Court of Justice to establish if it posed a danger to the rights of individual European citizens.

The controversial agreement, which opponents say was conducted behind closed doors, aimed to fight against counterfeiting at international level through greater co-ordination of anti-counterfeiting measures and tougher enforcement.

Source [http://blogs.wsj.com/tech-europe/2012/05/04/kroes-throws-in-towel-on-acta/?mod=google_news_blog]

Another one bites the dust.

 

[Shocksplicer]

...And you can just make out the next one on the horizon...

 

[alrekr]

Meanwhile the conservative government in the UK is trying create a porn filter that requires anyone who wants to view porn to "opt-in"...otherwise know as putting your name on a government.

[h4]Why won't anyone please think of the[sub]internet [/sub][/h4]

 

[SpAc3man]

Internets shall be awarded to everyone! Hooray!

Seriously though, this is a great victory in the never ending struggle to maintain internet freedom.

 

[JWRosser]

Is....is it gone?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vHAvjaHtlMA

Still, there are plenty of other things that the internet needs to worry about...

 

[Shivarage]

No time to relax yet, the bastards that call themselves "politicians" are plotting... also, how can the guy not have said it's dead when he said "it's dead"?

 

[Zipa]

Meanwhile the conservative government in the UK is trying create a porn filter that requires anyone who wants to view porn to "opt-in"...otherwise know as putting your name on a government.

[h4]Why won't anyone please think of the[sub]internet [/sub][/h4]

At it just so happens that they are so out of touch with the world of today that they don't know what a IP changer or proxy filter is.

 

[Keoul]

At it just so happens that they are so out of touch with the world of today that they don't know what a IP changer or proxy filter is.

Ugh when will these politicians realise they're basically putting a simple fence around the internet. Just a hassle that can be easily be by-passed >.>

 

[Zipa]

At it just so happens that they are so out of touch with the world of today that they don't know what a IP changer or proxy filter is.

Ugh when will these politicians realise they're basically putting a simple fence around the internet. Just a hassle that can be easily be by-passed >.>

They won't at least not this generation anyway. They are out of touch and fear what they can not control aka the internet. This kind of shit won't really change until the generation of politicians that grew up using computers and the internet and actually have some semblance of understanding of them come into power and all the old fossils we have now shrivel up and die.

 

[Kargathia]

At it just so happens that they are so out of touch with the world of today that they don't know what a IP changer or proxy filter is.

Ugh when will these politicians realise they're basically putting a simple fence around the internet. Just a hassle that can be easily be by-passed >.>

They won't at least not this generation anyway. They are out of touch and fear what they can not control aka the internet. This kind of shit won't really change until the generation of politicians that grew up using computers and the internet and actually have some semblance of understanding of them come into power and all the old fossils we have now shrivel up and die.

Only minor problem being that this new generation will have to deal with a new set of problems that they're entirely too old for.

 

[Something Amyss]

Of course, ACTA may be dead in Europe, but it's already signed in in America.

And other countries.

yaaaay.

 

[Folji]

If there's one thing cases like ACTA has shown, it's that there are too few politicians in the world today who really understand how the internet actually works. One of the biggest driving forces in modern day society, and so many people with power in their hands are having so much trouble wrapping their heads around it.

 

[Use_Imagination_here]

Meanwhile the conservative government in the UK is trying create a porn filter that requires anyone who wants to view porn to "opt-in"...otherwise know as putting your name on a government.

[h4]Why won't anyone please think of the[sub]internet [/sub][/h4]

What? Could you link to that, it sounds absurd.

 

[Rylingo]

Spoiler

 

[Sonicron]

I'm still waiting to see how the final vote turns out in June, but this sounds like very good news indeed. Uplifting if true.

 

[MercurySteam]

Well that one's done and dusted

Next waiting!

 

[The Rogue Wolf]

Bad laws are like zombies- you don't just take out one and call it a day; there's always others to watch for. And sometimes even that one you thought you finished off is just waiting to rise again.

 

[ProtoChimp]

Of course, ACTA may be dead in Europe, but it's already signed in in America.

And other countries.

yaaaay.

NO! No! nooo...

Capcha: Drawing Board. Well we better get back to it then.

 

[Amethyst Wind]

Next up: CISPA.

They will keep trying (wrongly) and people will keep protesting (for form's sake at least) until they actually bring in people who know what they are talking about that are able to come up with a useful counter against piracy that won't also shank the everyday browser on sites-of-the-web.

Best grab a drink. It'll be a while methinks.

 

[Redlin5_v1legacy]

Bad laws are like zombies- you don't just take out one and call it a day; there's always others to watch for. And sometimes even that one you thought you finished off is just waiting to rise again.

Spoiler

Still, even if more are to come, I'm glad this one is on its way to the grave.