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European Commissioner: ACTA, you shall not pass!

The European Commissioner for Digital Agenda Neelie Kroes has noted today that she does not expect the controversial ACTA bill to become law in the EU.

ACTA is a global trade agreement that is aimed at stopping digital piracy and the exchange of material pirated goods.



While the bill has been signed by the U.S., Canada, Japan and 22 of the 27 EU nations it still needs final approval by the European Commission to become law. Kroes says this is highly "unlikely" due to invasion of privacy concerns.

Adds Kroes: We are "likely to be in a world without SOPA and without ACTA and we now need to find solutions to make the Internet a place of freedom, openness, and innovation fit for all citizens."

The Commissioner does feel an ACTA-esque agreement is inevitable in the future, but the current bill has enormous shortcomings. Citizens' freedom to privacy must not be invaded, she notes. When asked about thoughts on future bills, Kroes says: "Yes the Internet should be open; and yes it should be free. But that is not the same as being a lawless wild west."



Written by: Andre Yoskowitz @ 7 May 2012 23:49

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• 4 comments

• LordRuss

  22 out of 27 vote 'For' this thing, yet Kroes "expects" that it won't pass? Is this official known for their clairvoyance?
  
  These idiots keep writing this shit, continue to vote for it & yet in the midnight hour it gets voted down... Are they hoping while the right hand is waving madly the left hand will slip in our asses & pull out that rabbit? Possibly a gold brick we're all hiding that they so desperately think is theirs?
  
  Not all of them (of course), but the bulk of them certainly seem to behave this way. And the Greed of the US is giving a bad rap for the decent folks who actually have to live here.
  
  God forbid an age of decency returned & rules of fair play came to be. I can understand why some rules for protecting ownership is needed, but the core of legislation has little to do with the originating creative persons who produced the materials needing the copyrights.
  
  These laws are only being made as Kevlar for the greed machines & nothing more.
  

  http://onlyinrussellsworld.blogspot.com

  8.5.2012 12:14 #1

• SuikoNiNjitZu

  Can somebody please explain how a U.S. made Law can Rape Millions of people another Country?

  8.5.2012 12:23 #2

• Dela

  Originally posted by LordRuss: 22 out of 27 vote 'For' this thing, yet Kroes "expects" that it won't pass? Is this official known for their clairvoyance?
  
  These idiots keep writing this shit, continue to vote for it & yet in the midnight hour it gets voted down... Are they hoping while the right hand is waving madly the left hand will slip in our asses & pull out that rabbit? Possibly a gold brick we're all hiding that they so desperately think is theirs?
  
  Not all of them (of course), but the bulk of them certainly seem to behave this way. And the Greed of the US is giving a bad rap for the decent folks who actually have to live here.
  
  God forbid an age of decency returned & rules of fair play came to be. I can understand why some rules for protecting ownership is needed, but the core of legislation has little to do with the originating creative persons who produced the materials needing the copyrights.
  
  These laws are only being made as Kevlar for the greed machines & nothing more. It's politics. On the 22 out of 27 member states point, the European Commission is tasked with regulating the single European market. It also plays a role in areas of rights and so forth, and therefore, if a law enacted by a state could be shown to be in conflict with treaties signed by the elected heads of the state (and passed by parliaments, enshrined in national constitution etc.) then yes, the European institutions can get in the way.
  
  ACTA is just another trade agreement on a pretty much global scale, and its principles affect the single European market, as well as the freedoms and rights of citizens of European nations. Therefore, it was always going to be a potential area of controversy in the EU, which is why the European Court of Justice decided to review it also. While Neelie Kroes might not be supportive of ACTA based on her interpretation of it and EU law (and also her position as commissioner of digital agenda), there are possibly other commissioners who are supportive of ACTA, or members of the European Parliament, or the European Council (made up of the 27 leaders of EU states) who want to see ACTA passed, but the European Commission's position as the chief regulator in the European Union means it can derail ACTA in Europe for sure.
  
  Not all politicians are on the same side on every issue :-)

  8.5.2012 13:19 #3

• Dela

  Originally posted by SuikoNiNjitZu: Can somebody please explain how a U.S. made Law can Rape Millions of people another Country? It's not exactly made in the U.S., it's a trade agreement that the U.S. is part of. It isn't SOPA or PIPA, it's a global trade agreement that was negotiated over the past few years.

  8.5.2012 13:21 #4