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Thousands Take To the Streets To Protest ACTA

Posted by timothy on from the where-to-find-fawkes-masks-in-bulk? dept.

An anonymous reader writes "The protests against the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement continue to spread in cities across Europe. The protests began in Poland, where thousands have taken to the streets and opposition politicians have worn Guy Fawkes masks in protest against the country signing the agreement last week. The scenes from Poland and France are remarkable, demonstrating the widespread anger over the decision to join ACTA. A full rundown of protest plans can be found here."

19 of 217 comments (clear)

  1. But does it change anything? by erick99 · · Score: 5, Interesting

    These protests are short-lived and I wonder if they end up doing any good. I am against ACTA and I have called my congressman as has my son to ask him to not support it. Interestingly, he knew little about it and wanted information. We had a fairly long call. At the end of the call he said that he would not vote for it. How many others in congress are not aware of what's in this bill? Protesting is well and good but I think making phone calls, emails, etc. are also very, very important. We can get to folks in congress one phone call at a time and put ACTA out of our misery.

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    1. Re:But does it change anything? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Interesting

      Even if it doesn't change anything, symbolically its HUGE.

      Remember how the media tried to downplay Occupy Wall Street as just a money issue? Well if something as technical as ACTA/SOPA can mobilize people, what does that say about sitting governments and future elections?

    2. Re:But does it change anything? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Yes, these protests do something. They show people that they are not alone in their anger towards the politicians who are selling them out. When the Swedish Pirate Party formed, it showed people in other countries that proper representation of the internet affine generations is possible, and Pirate Parties formed in other countries. People no longer believe that they are tiny minority whose interests are being trampled. They see other people who think alike. When the German Pirate Party made it into the senate of Berlin, it created a turmoil among the incumbent parties. A flurry of "me too" promises resulted and the parties which had ridiculed the Pirate Party before the election tried to suck up to the "new" voters. It hurts to lose a couple percent points of the votes to a new party. The protests in Poland may well remove people from office, as they're not just about ACTA, but about Poland's signature in violation of the decision of the expert commission of Poland's parliament. The anger is also about the USA's meddling, and ACTA will cause the USA to lose some standing in the world, this time not amongst the countries which it already perceives as enemies, but among "friends".

    3. Re:But does it change anything? by Luckyo · · Score: 5, Informative

      Many are also not aware that media clampdown during occupy wall street reporting dropped USA from 20th to 47th spot in yearly Reporters without Borders study. It's officially a third world country in terms of press freedom now, stuck somewhere between Ghana and Haiti.

      It's quite sad how USA still sees itself as a paragon of freedom, and often complains about other countries clamping down on their press.

      http://en.rsf.org/press-freedom-index-2011-2012,1043.html

    4. Re:But does it change anything? by rsilvergun · · Score: 5, Interesting

      The media didn't downplay, they outright ignored. Worked too. The cops moved in and busted some heads and the whole thing fizzled out. Occupy Wall Street wasn't about a few anti-1% protests. It was about changing America's economic narrative: e.g. work hard and play by the rules and you'll succeed. It was about letting the 99% know the deck was stacked against them; and that no matter how hard they worked they'd keep losing ground. The American Ruling class figured that out right quick and squashed it.

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    5. Re:But does it change anything? by Yvanhoe · · Score: 5, Interesting

      I call my European MP and he said he received tons of calls already. He was honest "we didn't do our homework on this yet, but we are already critical of it because of its part on generic drugs."

      Protests are not enough to withdraw a law, but they show that the issue is not minor either. There are tons of text being voted. More often than not, representative just vote along their party's line. When they see protests, there is a chance they will investigate a bit further. And when they investigate even a slight bit further, if they just google 'ACTA' they'll find a tone of things to be critical of.

      --
      The Wise adapts himself to the world. The Fool adapts the world to himself. Therefore, all progress depends on the Fool.
  2. ACTA Represents the End... by kuleiana · · Score: 5, Interesting

    ACTA represents the end of political power as we knew it, growing up. ACTA, the NDAA, SOPA, PIPA, and the inconcievably invasive H.B. 2288 (which I am ashamed to say originated here in Hawaii) represent some of the best efforts by the 1% to control what we say and do, especially online. What hubris!

    --
    Thinkingman.com New Media
    1. Re:ACTA Represents the End... by thereitis · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Can we also get rid of the counterfeit politicians who are selling out to big business?

    2. Re:ACTA Represents the End... by DigiShaman · · Score: 5, Insightful

      And that is why the common man should have the right to bear arms. Tread on us will they?

      --
      Life is not for the lazy.
    3. Re:ACTA Represents the End... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

      That used to work back when guns were all about the same size.

  3. Good to see someone standing up against this junk by Strych9 · · Score: 5, Interesting

    While artists and such do deserve a right to be able to make a fair shake on what they produce, why should patentable items only have a 20 year shelf life while a song have 100+ years of protection?

    This is insane.

    That should give the entertainment/content industry pause, if there was a strong united Internet demand for fair copyright terms.

    That should give some pause to those trying to hijack the production and distribution of ideas.

  4. Let's do Brussels next weekend... by TheRaven64 · · Score: 5, Interesting

    There are going to be about 4,000 geeks in Brussels next weekend for FOSDEM - I bet at least half of them could be persuaded to pop over to the EU parliament for a little bit of protesting...

    --
    I am TheRaven on Soylent News
    1. Re:Let's do Brussels next weekend... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Interesting

      No they don't ... they clearly don't ... Also some nice facts about Belgium:

      - It's not illegal to run from the police at all
      - it's not illegal to try to escape from jail (as long as you don't do anything illegal by doing so)
      - You won't get charged with "assaulting a police officer" if you "touch one"
      - You won't get charged for "resisting arrest" (unless you shoot some cop) by just "moving your hands on your face"
      - You won't get a 10 years jail sentence even if you punch one ... in the face !!
      - They don't use Tazers because it's been proven medically dangerous and useless (they're still able to arrest you normally)
      - They do have spray but not pepper spray , it"s some sort of CS gaz ...
      - Cops are not allowed to use firearms unless directly life threatened (and NO ... walking towards a cop who is saying "STOP" is not life threatening)

      Most likely cops in Belgium will just place some barricade ... and wait for the crowd to fatigue an go home.
      However ... if a protest becomes violent

      - They can arrest you without any charge for up to 12 hours (not anymore), it's called "Administrative Arrest"
      - They can use mounted police which you don't want to get in front of
      - They do use a lot of water cannons which are quite powerful
      - They do use tear gaz but very rarely because it pisses everyone off including the people living there and themselves

      Here is an example of a typical Belgian Protest "retaliation" from the Cops https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=2vEdgySRnxk#!
      As you can see , it"s quite "soft" and well ... humid , compared to US police ...

      No really :) Protesting in Belgium is OK. It's not yet a Police State at all compared to the USA

  5. Not a bill; Congress was never asked. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Informative

    The problem is that ACTA is being touted as executive agreement which the president has already signed. IIRC a bunch of senators were even denied access to the ACTA negotiations as a matter of "national security." Obama has essentially given congress the finger.

    1. Re:Not a bill; Congress was never asked. by equex · · Score: 5, Interesting

      they are DISTRACTIONS to keep us fighting with each other.

      This. A thousand times this. There are no left or right. There are no republicans or democrats. It's all distractions from the real problem, which are the sleezy puppet masters that we do not see.

      --
      Can I light a sig ?
  6. Re:Good to see someone standing up against this ju by RazorSharp · · Score: 5, Interesting

    You know, you bring up a good point. If the internet community can try to fight with legislation of their own - legislation that would limit copyrights and extend fair use and public domain - then these media giants might find that they've awakened a sleeping giant. Not only should we be contacting our congressmen and telling them what to oppose, but we should also be telling them what type of changes we want made in regards to copyright.

    Even if the endeavor isn't successful, imagine how scared shitless the MPAA would be if we could get guys like Ron Paul and Ron Wyden to introduce a bill that would get rid of the Mickey Mouse Protection Act or other such nonsense. Furthermore, if we can convince guys like that to vocally campaign on these issues, it would do a lot towards raising awareness.

    --
    "From the depths of my skeptical and rationalist soul, I ask the Lord to protect me from California touchie-feeliedom."
  7. Re:They really should protest copyrights and paten by roman_mir · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Those differences are irrelevant in the face of one striking similarity: both are granted by government, both are protected with the force of government, both are a subsidy to specific business models and both must go.

    --
    You can't handle the truth.
  8. Re:Protesting useless, need money + corporate supp by RazorSharp · · Score: 5, Insightful

    This is the argument for apathy, and it's wrong. Protesting isn't just about results, protesting is about standing up for what's right. Regardless, I do believe there are positive results - right now we, along with many others around the world, are discussing an issue that may not have occurred to us, or we may not have known about, had it not been for a group of Polish protestors.

    Money isn't everything. That's just a defeatist attitude. It's the type of attitude that, by accepting injustice as inevitable, is complicit in it.

    --
    "From the depths of my skeptical and rationalist soul, I ask the Lord to protect me from California touchie-feeliedom."
  9. Re:how about by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Informative

    To correct this misleading statement: ACTA is a trade agreement pushed by the US government rather heavy handedly. So it is quite clear that the usual suspects MPAA/RIAA pushed this forward. Being a trade agreement or at least presented as such it used secret negotiations and participants having to sign non disclosure agreements. This "trade agreement" status is a rather shady arrangement which served to avoid public scrutiny and democratic control. ACTA is not EU legislation. Though the EU has signed, it still requires ratification by all EU member states. The troll above clearly thinks that he can influence the process by misinformation.
    My guess is that the building opposition and increasing public awareness following the SOPA debacle will leave this process dead in the water. Good riddance.