Public Knowledge Hails European Parliament Anti-ACTA Vote
Public Knowledge Hails European Parliament Anti-ACTA Vote
Public Knowledge Hails European Parliament Anti-ACTA Vote

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    Background: The European Parliament voted 663-13 in favor of a resolution opposing the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement. The resolution calls on negotiators to make all documents public, and stipulates that no one can have Internet access taken away under a “three strikes” provision without a court order. The text of the resolution is here.

    A good background story is here.

    The following statement is attributed to Gigi B. Sohn, president and co-founder of Public Knowledge:

    “The United States government would do well to take to heart the sentiment on the ACTA negotiations as overwhelmingly expressed by the European Parliament. Public Knowledge and others have said for months that these negotiations should be open and transparent. Public Knowledge and others have said that the talks, as shown in leaked documents, appear to be treading heavily on the rights of Internet users here and abroad.

    “This is the time for our government to take positive steps to treat the ACTA negotiations as a treaty and not as a trade agreement, to open the process to the public and Congress and to make certain that the terms being negotiated respect the rights of Internet users. This process for too long has been driven by the wishes of the Big Media companies. The European Parliament vote is yet another reminder that ACTA, both in process and in substance, is fatally flawed.”

    Members of the media may contact Communications Director Shiva Stella with inquiries, interview requests, or to join the Public Knowledge press list at shiva@publicknowledge.org or 405-249-9435.