In protest of the signing of ACTA, a letter to my MP

An example e-mail for those wishing to contact their MP regarding ACTA

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First there was the Digital Economy Bill (now Act). Then came America’s response, SOPA and PIPA. Now countries  (including the UK) have signed up to ACTA (an international agreement that aims to create international standards on intellectual property rights enforcement). This agreement has been developed in secret, with no debate at a national level. 10,000 people in Poland have been out in the streets demonstrating in protest at their government signing up to ACTA and I am about ready to do the same here in the UK. I find it entirely unacceptable that a “trade agreement” with such wide ranging scope can be secretly foisted upon citizens around the globe.

The main criticisms of this agreement are as follows:

1. It is undemocratic – It is highly unusual for criminal sanctions of this scale to be negotiated without democratic process. Additionally, finding out about ACTA has been incredibly difficult as those involved have had to sign an NDA regarding it’s content. No-one yet knows who created this agreement.
2. It blurs the lines between piracy and counterfeiting - ACTA appears to refer to piracy and counterfeiting in the same breath as if they were the same thing. Piracy and counterfeiting are not the same thing.
3. It criminalises copyright infringement when there are civil sanctions already – the wording in ACTA is open to abuse. Specifically, ISPs and data centres would potentially be liable for aiding and abetting any commercial website that features a copyright infringing piece of content
4. It creates a barrier to changing national law - ACTA takes away from democratic governments the right to set their own copyright policy or patent policy

You can find details of today’s signing of ACTA in Japan here: http://www.mofa.go.jp/policy/economy/i_property/acta1201.html

For more information, it’s worth watching this 6 minute video explaining ACTA:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N8Xg_C2YmG0&feature=player_embedded

Once again, the freedom of the internet is under threat as those with power and influence try to wrest control away from everyday people. Please do whatever you can to look into this agreement and bring it to the attention of those in government who are best placed to investigate it.