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EU Parliment To Vote On ACTA Soon; Take Action Now

sTeF writes "Laquadrature du Net releases 3 videos on ACTA: Every citizen can help defeat ACTA by spreading this video across the Internet, urging their fellow citizens to mobilize, and contacting their elected representatives. ACTA is a threat to Internet users' fundamental freedoms and to EU Internet companies' competitiveness and free competition. The European Parliament will soon decide whether to give its consent to ACTA, or to reject it once and for all."

15 of 115 comments (clear)

  1. The villain always returns by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

    "Reject it once and for all"?

    I find your naivety charming but have no need for your newsletter.

  2. What... by tsa · · Score: 3, Insightful

    That video generates more questions in my brain than it answers. "ACTA is bad, nnkay?" it says, which is not enough. The extremely one-side view on ACTA the video provides sickens me. It doesn't even tell me who "The Negotiators" are. I can't say "No" to ACTA based on this video alone.

    --

    -- Cheers!

    1. Re:What... by secondhand_Buddah · · Score: 2

      Really? Hows your internet experience been to date? I've been online for 17 years now, and I can honestly find any reason why I would want my current rights or access to change. Whats there to negotiate? The internet is the way it is because of how it has evolved in the current environment. Changing the environment will change the internet - and here is no way imposed legislation can improve it.

      --
      Participatory Governance : The only feasible option for a real democracy, where everyone really does have a say.
    2. Re:What... by theocrite · · Score: 5, Informative

      That video generates more questions in my brain than it answers.

      What questions?

      "ACTA is bad, nnkay?" it says, which is not enough.

      It's enought for the video. Nobody would watch a 30 minutes boring video quoting obfuscated texts refering to more obfuscated texts already signed by countries dozens of years before that.

      The point of this video is to try to get the interest of a lot of people. The one who didn't heard of ACTA before. Once these people are interested, they can seek informations by themselves. The link provided in the video, that's a good start. Or see the wikipedia page, seek on the search engine, or seek on their favorite online newspaper.

      The extremely one-side view on ACTA the video provides sickens me.

      Well, what do you suggest? A more positive approach? Like "Think of the future, nobody will be able to share knowledge, wouldn't that be great?".
      What if everything is bad in ACTA?

      It doesn't even tell me who "The Negotiators" are.

      That's the point. "The Negotiators" are not known. ACTA has been negotiated in secret during the past few years. Withoout the control of the democratically elected parliaments or other institutions. Now the treaty is finalized and signed by some Countries. The other Countries now have a gun pressed against their head "sign it or you're out".

      I can't say "No" to ACTA based on this video alone.

      Of course you can't.
      But maybe you can say no to ACTA based on this video + my comment + few other comments on this news, + on https://www.eff.org/issues/acta + https://www.laquadrature.net/en/acta + http://www.michaelgeist.ca/index.php?option=com_tags&task=view&tag=acta&Itemid=408 + http://www.fsf.org/campaigns/acta/why-acta-declaration + http://www.ffii.org/ + your own sources of information.

      And if someday you want to say no, here is how: http://www.laquadrature.net/wiki/How_to_act_against_ACTA :)

    3. Re:What... by KiloByte · · Score: 2

      The extremely one-side view on ACTA the video provides sickens me.

      What sickens me is that this view is accurate.

      --
      The creatures outside looked from Alt-Right to Antifa; but already it was impossible to say which was which.
    4. Re:What... by L4t3r4lu5 · · Score: 2

      ... [W]e need to be tough on certain types of content, not because they're undesirable, but because they are illegal - and it was a democracy that decided it was illegal.

      We already have laws covering the vast majority of crime committed over the internet; Fraud, libel, counterfeiting, unlicensed duplication, patent infringement, anti-social behaviour... They all exist without the internet, and we don't need new laws covering them. We need society to adapt its thinking to the new way of doing things, not shoehorn legislation through to restrict it.

      ACTA is very long and complicated document designed to do two things;
      - Protect aged and archaic copyright parasites like record companies
      - Protect the disgusting profits of western pharmaceutical companies from being diminished by unbranded generic types from India et al.

      Versace really don't care if you can get a £15 imitation of their latest £1400 handbag on eBay; They don't make products for the general population. Posh Beckham doesn't shop on eBay, and she'll buy the original whether there's a fake or not. Susan Stayathomemom is not a lost sale to them, and ACTA is poison.

      --
      Finally had enough. Come see us over at https://soylentnews.org/
  3. Re:My representative should know about this by unity100 · · Score: 3, Insightful

    maybe s/he doesnt know. s/he should. dont risk it.

  4. Re:My representative should know about this by theocrite · · Score: 3, Interesting

    You missed the irony cause you probably don't know who Christian Engström is.


    That said, if your MEP is Christian Engström, maybe you could bother another one?

    That's what I did for the telecoms package. I called a dozen of MEP. Of course, they are less receptive when you tell them you don't vote for them. But
    1/you don't have to tell them (they tend to forget that they are paid to serve general interest and not just to make sure they will be reelected)
    2/when they speak with lobbies, they are less peaky about where they're from and
    3/freedom deserves me trying that (it's just a bunch of phone calls, no harm done, and it's really efficient).

    For more informations: http://www.laquadrature.net/en/acta
    To act, see http://www.laquadrature.net/wiki/How_to_act_against_ACTA

  5. Re:For those of you that want the full story... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Informative

    I had to give up before the end of the introduction paragraphs. It doesn't contain a single comma, even though it's in dire need of a few dozen, and the start of the article at least doesn't say more than "ACTA supports the industry and will soon be signed" (I imagine that most readers would consider that a good thing). And the video in TFA is very economical with the truth, badly structured, and low on info. No wonder people don't get worked up about ACTA, if all the opposition can come up with, is this trash.

  6. Re:Hate to sound cynical but.. by Forty+Two+Tenfold · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Please stop making a fuss about ACTA if you can not objectively tell us what is it going to do and why should we even oppose it.

    Um... no. You should oppose it for this exact reason. What exactly it will do is so multi-faceted and so deeply buried in legal speak it requires a book to explain. This report, by its very length, defends itself against the risk of being read. — Winston Churchill

    --
    Upward mobility is a slippery slope - the higher you climb the more you show your ass.
  7. Keeps on coming by jevring · · Score: 2

    The problem with legislation is that, even if you defeat one, it can simply be reintroduced again and again until it is passed. There is no provision for forbidding anything to ever become a law (for a reason, otherwise we'd never be able to undo bad decisions). I hate ACTA as much as the next guy, and I really don't want to see it in use, but if the politicians have decided that some form of law like this will be in place, there's no stemming the tide simply by expressing our displeasure for it. Do you honestly think that politicians listen to the people who elect them? That's not how it works. We listen to the politicians, and elect the one we believe best represents our interests. It's (almost) always a one-way street.

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    Move sig!
  8. Re:The EU by theocrite · · Score: 4, Informative

    Is the real threat to my freedom! British independence! Now!

    I hope you're joking. :)

    Cause ACTA is not EU specific. In fact, EU might be one of the last chances to stop ACTA.


    USA, Japan, Australia, Canada, North Korea, New Zealand and Singapore already signed ACTA.

    Mexico and Switzerland didn't want to sign the text. EU couldn't sign the text because this case never happend (who will sign the text in the name of the 27 member States?)

    On the other hand, UK has been one of the worst State in the EU on this topic (filesharing, making isp become private police, etc.). Blair was a crazy puppy found of Bush. We though I might change with Cameron. Well, it didn't.

  9. Re:Hate to sound cynical but.. by shentino · · Score: 4, Insightful

    ACTA's secrecy is the biggest reason to vote against it.

    Why? Because it's something that the powers that be are afraid we would oppose if we knew what was going on.

    Oh wait, we're just citizen peons. We don't get to vote on it.

    Only the government does.

    And with no way to recall someone from congress after we've elected them, what incentive do they have to vote how we wanted them to when we elected them?

    If it's lucrative enough someone can easily sacrifice their political career for a handsome payoff in the private sector.

    Or assume rightly in most cases that if they pull a fast one early enough the electorate will have long forgotten by the time campaign time comes around again.

  10. Re:My representative should know about this by pjt33 · · Score: 2

    So that he can stand up and say "It's not just my view I'm representing: I've received lots of letters from constituents about this specific issue".

  11. Re:The EU by TheReaperD · · Score: 4, Insightful

    The purpose of treaties like this is to bypass such requirements as amending constitutions and getting a democratic majority. This way, a very few individuals of merit (bribed) can create and institute regulations that supersede national constitutions without bothering you or your elected representative with details until the enforcement phase. It also allows elected representatives to claim plausible deniability when the political fallout hits and since you do not know who the original negotiators were, no one is held accountable.

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    "Be particularly skeptical when presented with evidence confirming what you already believe." -