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ACTA Signed By 22 EU Countries

First time accepted submitter azrael29a writes "22 EU members signed the controversial ACTA treaty today in Tokyo. However, the signatures of the EU member states and the EU itself will count for nothing unless the European Parliament gives its approval to ACTA in June."

29 of 138 comments (clear)

  1. Sure its my signature by Ragun · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Sure, its my signature, but I take no responsibility for any decisions.

    Gotta love politics.

  2. Re:Say no to ... by The+Archon+V2.0 · · Score: 5, Informative

    The people say "no", but their masters seem pretty eager to say "yes".

  3. French MEP calls it a 'charade' by icebraining · · Score: 5, Informative

    A French MEP has quit the process of scrutinising ACTA for the European Parliament, calling the treaty's passage through the EU legislative system a masquerade.

    In a statement on Thursday, Kader Arif denounced the signing of ACTA (the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement) by the EU and 21 member states earlier in the day. He said the European Parliament was being undermined and the process was a "charade" in which he would no longer participate.
    (..)
    "I want to denounce as the greatest of all the process that led to the signing of this agreement: no association of civil society, lack of transparency from the beginning of negotiations, successive postponements of the signing of the text without any explanation being given, setting aside the claims of the European Parliament [despite those views being] expressed in several resolutions of our Assembly," Arif said, according to an automated translation of his statement.

    Arif said he had as rapporteur "faced unprecedented manoeuvres of the right of Parliament to impose an accelerated schedule to pass the agreement as soon as possible before the public is alerted, thereby depriving Parliament of its right of expression and the tools at its disposal to carry the legitimate demands of citizens".
    (...)
    "This agreement may [have a] major impact on the lives of our citizens, and yet everything is done [so that] the European Parliament has no say," Arif said. "I will not participate in this charade."

    http://www.zdnet.co.uk/blogs/communication-breakdown-10000030/mep-quits-acta-charade-in-protest-at-eu-signing-10025297/

    1. Re:French MEP calls it a 'charade' by cpu6502 · · Score: 4, Interesting

      Funny.

      Yesterday people were asking "How can I move from the US to the EU?" in praise of the EU's anti-corporate actions. But today the EU demonstrated it's really no different..... the bureaucrats/politicians are bought and sold by the corporate elite in the same fashion.

      "Yeah... they want to control the internet. They can't wait to silence freedom of speech and yank websites." - Ron Paul.

      BTW they are already doing this in Russia. Any website that dares to challenge Putin or his party are accused of "using copyright-infringing software" and their computers immediately seized. The end. Copyright is being used to control the People and silence dissent.

      --
      My AC stalker: " I personally agree with your posts most of the time, but that won't keep me from modding you troll"
  4. Re:Say no to ... by johnvile · · Score: 5, Insightful

    There Masters aren't saying "Yes" there saying "yes yes yes" whilst the American government rams law up there ass.

    --
    "What Are They Gonna Do When Were All Using Freenet"
  5. How to act against ACTA by icebraining · · Score: 5, Informative
    1. Re:How to act against ACTA by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Informative

      And for US citizens, you can sign a petition to challenge ACTA after being signed into law as an executive agreement -- which doesn't require approval -- when it covers intellectual property, which requires ratification in Congress. Techdirt has more information.

      If you want to go further, you can contact Senator Ron Wyden, who also questions the constitutionality of ACTA.

  6. Not all of EU signed... yet by korgitser · · Score: 4, Informative

    I am from Estonia and our internet community has managed to put the ACTA issues into the public debate here. The politicians still seem unwilling to tackle the issues raised; furthermore, it seems they were about to sign it without reading it - even to the point where our local RIAA lackey was the one explaining the "governments position" on the TV yesterday. I do not know where this will end and while our government seems to be afraid to say no, we will not go down without a fight.

    --
    FCKGW 09F9 42
    1. Re:Not all of EU signed... yet by blind+biker · · Score: 4, Informative

      I do not know where this will end and while our government seems to be afraid to say no, we will not go down without a fight.

      The Poles are fighting it, too.

      --
      "The agriculture ministry is not in charge of Gundam" - Japanese ministry official.
  7. The MEP in charge just resigned. by o'reor · · Score: 5, Informative

    According to this article (in french), the Member of the European Parliament in charge of the ratification process of ACTA, Mr Kader Arif, just resigned his position, saying that the whole process is just an anti-democratic farce.

    --
    In Soviet Russia, our new overlords are belong to all your base.
  8. Why? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

    I'll have to admit, I'm having trouble understanding why so many nations want to sign this monstrosity. Why the US wants it globally accepted is obvious, we don't really manufacturer what we used to. A significant portion of our economy has moved to a creating ideas, instead of things, then selling those ideas at massively inflated prices. But why other nations would fight so hard to get this kind of thing implemented in their own countries, which won't benefit them, but in fact will likely be a determent to them, such treaties/legislation. Is there massive amounts of money paying off foreign politicians behind the scenes that I'm not seeing.

    1. Re:Why? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Insightful

      As wikileaks has shown, the USA government is the one forcing them to sign. And they only need to force a handful of countries. Funny part is, they actually need this.
      As said above, USA's economy is now creating ideas, no, don't confuse that with research, but ideas, which can be patented and sued over.

      Problem is, while the world is forced to play by their rules, the Chinese on the other hand will have no problem ignoring them. So we'll have to buy from the Chinese everything we need, because our companies will be sued to hell and back for anything they try to create.

      To the USA, keep pushing, when somebody will push back you'll probably break your neck.

    2. Re:Why? by Noughmad · · Score: 4, Funny

      Why the US wants it globally accepted is obvious, we don't really manufacturer what we used to. A significant portion of our economy has moved to a creating ideas, instead of things, then selling those ideas at massively inflated prices.

      What ideas?

      Rounded corners.

      --
      PlusFive Slashdot reader for Android. Can post comments.
  9. Re:The first Slashdot troll post investigation by bonch · · Score: 4, Informative

    You're responding to a repaste of a classic troll post from ten years ago.

  10. Re:Say no to ... by Dyinobal · · Score: 5, Insightful

    It isn't so much the American government as the corporations, who don't really have a nationality.

  11. Do you hear that? by Sponge+Bath · · Score: 3, Insightful

    That is the sound of inevitability... It is the sound of corporate rule.

    Ha ha, just kidding. I'm sure the EP will fight for the rights of its people. :-D

  12. Re:It isn't so much by TaoPhoenix · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Borrowing Animal Farm:

    "And then they looked from the government to the corporation, from the corporations back to the government, and they were unable to tell the difference."

    --
    My first Journal Entry ever, in 8 years! http://slashdot.org/journal/365947/aphelion-scifi-fantasy-horror-poetry-webzine
  13. No vote required. It's a done deal. by bughunter · · Score: 5, Informative

    Since it's a treaty, like NAFTA, it's far easier to implement, far harder to challenge in court, and more powerful than an act of Congress. And it's global.

    ACTA vs. SOPA: Five Reasons ACTA is Scarier Threat to Internet Freedom from the International Business Times:

    The SOPA bill was derailed because it required both houses of the U.S. Congress to pass it, and for President Barack Obama to sign it. Once approved, it would have been subject to challenge and could have been changed by future congresses.

    ACTA, on the other hand, was already signed by the United States on Oct. 11, 2011, and Obama was not required to get the approval of any outside authority to do so: not the Congress, not the Supreme Court, and not the American public.

    Now that it has been signed, the legislative and judicial branches of the U.S. government also have little ability to challenge or amend the treaty, and Americans would be subject to a whole new scheme of laws, restrictions and regulations that could have them facing fines or jail through a process that would likely exist entirely outside the scope of the American justice system.

    --
    I can see the fnords!
  14. Re:No vote required. It's a done deal. by 0123456 · · Score: 5, Insightful

    You seem to have missed the part where the Senate has to vote to accept any treaty. Clinton signed Kyoto, but the Senate unanimously rejected it anyway.

  15. Fuck those who signed ACTA. by Per+Wigren · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Fuck Austria. Fuck Australia. Fuck Belgium. Fuck Bulgaria. Fuck Canada. Fuck the Czech Republic. Fuck Denmark. Fuck Finland. Fuck France. Fuck Greece. Fuck Hungary. Fuck Ireland. Fuck Italy. Fuck Japan. Fuck Latvia. Fuck Lithuania. Fuck Luxemburg. Fuck Malta. Fuck Morocco. Fuck New Zealand. Fuck Poland. Fuck Portugal. Fuck Romania. Fuck Singapore. Fuck Slovenia. Fuck South Korea. Fuck Spain. Fuck Sweden. Fuck the UK. Fuck the USA.

    --
    My other account has a 3-digit UID.
    1. Re:Fuck those who signed ACTA. by Noughmad · · Score: 4, Funny

      Fuck Sweden.

      Assange tried, it didn't end too well for him.

      --
      PlusFive Slashdot reader for Android. Can post comments.
  16. PETITION EUPARL ! by unity100 · · Score: 5, Informative

    if you are situated on an eu member country, or, live/work in an eu member country, or, is employed by a company that is registered inside eu, you have the right to petition european parliament. you also have the right if you are citizen of a country that is an official candidate for eu.

    Petition euparl from below link. tell them to fuck this shit :

    https://www.secure.europarl.europa.eu/aboutparliament/en/petition.html

    this is no joke petition - its official petition form of euparl itself. just drop your real name, address while petitioning.

  17. There's your answer. by zooblethorpe · · Score: 3, Insightful

    What I find odd is that Germany didn't sign it. That's the biggest economic power in the EU. I'd like to see the reason for that.

    I think you've answered your own question. They are solidly standing on their own feet, and thus are less willing to bend over in response to bullying.

    --
    "What in the name of Fats Waller is that?"
    "A four-foot prune."
    1. Re:There's your answer. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Interesting

      For our American and Canadian readers; in Germany (and most other European countries) every vote counts. This means that your % of popular vote more or less directly translates into % of seats. This is called "equal representation".

      For our European friends; in the US and Canada not every vote counts. Take for instance Canada. For Federal/National elections, the country is being cut in 388 little areas, called "ridings". The best way to explain is that, aside from a "national election" with "national candidates" being fought in the media, there's actually at the same time some sort of municipal election going on. The actual voting is riding-based (you don't vote for the "party leader", you vote for -if you win- some backbencher that happens to live in your neighbourhood).
      Let's assume that in all ridings, the party "AA-Friends" gets 40% of the vote, the party "Neutral" gets 31% and the Pirate Party of Canada wins 29%. In that case, all ridings are won by the AA-Friends and they rule with a 100% majority, while Neutral and PPoC get no seats at all, even though together they hold 60% of the popular vote. In reality of course, the ridings are not all won by the same party, but the truth is that with less than 40% of the popular vote the Conservatives do hold a majority in parliament.

      So while Canada and the US won't see any threat by "independent" candidates, in Germany it's a very, very real danger. Luckily for us, this also extends to the European Parliament where IPR-related matters are decided.

  18. Re:Google is not helping... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Informative

    Try the search with "how acta kills your job"; it returns a slew of pages, such asHow ACTA Kills Your Job.

  19. They have every reason to by Brain-Fu · · Score: 4, Insightful

    The wealthy members of every nation are, naturally, united in their desire to remain wealthy. The introduction of globally-enforced artificial scarcity appears to be a great way of doing that. It isn't like the wealthy members of EU would rather see ACTA vanish, but are bowing their heads in submission to America. They are happily jumping at the chance to enter into such an agreement, because it directly benefits them. Or so they think.

    Such oppression will only fan the flames of rebellion, and law enforcement will always have limits.

  20. Re:Tokyo? by Anne+Thwacks · · Score: 3, Insightful
    So the voters can't see what is being done in their names.

    You must be new here.

    --
    Sent from my ASR33 using ASCII
  21. Re:Say no to ... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Informative

    How can you tell? The final version still isn't publicly available. Whose word are you believing?

  22. Re:Say no to ... by rhook · · Score: 4, Informative

    Obama claims he is against SOPA and PIPA yet he signed ACTA last year.

    http://www.webpronews.com/president-obama-doesnt-support-sopa-but-signs-acta-2012-01