ACTA Make or Break

This week sees the final vote made by Members of European Parliament (MEP) on whether the Anti Counterfeiting Trade Agreement is passed or not. It's been rejected by several smaller groups – most recently the European Parliament's International Trade committee – but this is the big one. A rejection in this final vote will see ACTA sink across the world.

While much of the internet's big push against the trade agreement happened earlier in the year, protest is still ongoing, with groups like AccessNow requesting donations to cover the cost of placards and press conferences. Not only that but the email campaign that has been perhaps the biggest push – as could be expected from a digital community – is going strong. The guys at TorrentFreak have a mail alias that if sent to, forwards your correspondence on to all 750 MEPs. If you want to get your own point across, the address is: [email protected].

ACTA is the third big bit of copyright-pro legislation that has threatened web freedoms in the past year, following shortly after SOPA and PIPA, which garnered there own measures of hatred from the internet using citizens of the world. ACTA however drew far more ire, seeing massive real world protests across the EU and US, with thousands taking to the streets to show their dislike of the restrictive bill. It initially seemed to be gathering momentum, with many MEPs jumping onboard and registering their support. However, as the protests online and on foot began to grow in strength, many began changing their tune.

Now it looks unlikely to pass, but protest organisers are asking for one final push before the finish line.

Kitguru Says: If ACTA passes the internet could potentially become a far more restrictive place, with un-elected copyright lobbyists receiving unprecedented powers for controlling content. Have you emailed your MEP?

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