European Parliament passes resolution against ACTA

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Citizens and ISPs have rights defined

The European Parliament (EP) has passed a motion calling for any negotiations of the controversial ACTA treaty to safeguard the right of citizens and local ISPs.

The Written Declaration 12/2010 (WD 12) was supported by 377 European MPs and calls on the negotiators to respect the right of privacy for citizens, calls on the European Commission to be transparent in its dealings on the treaty and:

“Takes the view that internet service providers should not bear liability for the data they transmit or host through their services to an extent that would necessitate prior surveillance or filtering of such data,” it reads

The motion has no binding effect on the negotiators of the European Commission, which is currently in negotiations over the ACTA treaty.

"Written Declaration 12 is a strong political signal sent by the EP to the Commission that ACTA is not tolerable as a way of bypassing democratic processes. Legislation related to Internet, freedom of speech and privacy cannot be negotiated in secrecy under the direct influence of entertainment industry lobbies." said Jérémie Zimmermann, spokesperson of citizen advocacy group La Quadrature du Net.

"Citizens will need to act courageously to make sure that their Internet and their fundamental freedoms are properly defended. Full rejection of ACTA is the only option."

The latest leaked copy of the ACTA treaty states that it will "address the problem of copyright or related rights infringement which takes place by means of digital networks in a manner that balances the rights of the relevant right holders, online service providers and users of those networks."

“Let's hope that EU negotiators now recognize that ACTA should protect the fundamental rights of all citizens and 'net users, and not just the narrow i nterests of major content businesses,” blogged Gwen Hinze, the EFF's international director.

View: Original Article

[NoYB]

:fist: ACTA :excl: