Tens of thousands of Europeans rallied last weekend to protest ACTA, an anti-piracy treaty many fear will impede freedom on the Internet.
Intended as a measure to stop illegal file sharing, critics of the Anti-Copyright Trade Agreement say it will not only act as a poor deterrent to piracy, it’s knock-on effects will have a massive impact on freedom of speach and the ability of companies to innovate.
Proponents of the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement say it will not change current laws but will protect content creators from increasing levels of online piracy.
According to a report on Mashable.com, thousands of people turned out for protests in London, Munich, Berlin and Sofia.
The agreement was signed by several influential countries, including 22 EU member states also signed it, although it has yet to be ratified by the European Parliament and Germany has distanced itself from the treaty.
Opponents also take issue with text in the treaty that would allow countries to employ a three-strike rule (currently employed by eircom in Ireland) that would require Internet users to be cut off if they continue to download copyright material after receiving two warnings.
IDG News Service
Ltd
