Information Policy

Netherlands delays ACTA ratification

THE HAGUE, Netherlands, Feb. 16 (UPI) -- The Netherlands this week imposed delays on the ratification of the ACTA international anti-piracy agreement, which critics claim threatens Internet freedoms.

Opponents say the draft Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement puts users' privacy at risk while the European Commission contends the measure doesn't change existing data protection laws and is needed to mount a long-term global fight against copyright theft.

Germany, Poland, the Czech Republic and Slovakia have already delayed the international trade agreement's ratification process, citing the same privacy concerns highlighted during a wave of anti-ACTA protests throughout Europe last week.

The Netherlands joined that group Tuesday, when the Dutch lower house of Parliament backed a motion from the Green Left party calling on the Netherlands to refrain from signing onto ACTA, Radio Netherlands reported.

Lawmakers demanded more clarity on the privacy implications for Dutch Internet users under the terms of the deal, which unites all 27 EU member nations, the United States, Japan, Canada and others countries in a regime in which Internet service providers are expected to cooperate with rights holders of content such as music and movies.

One of the chief fears of opponents is that ISPs will be forced to hand over private information to rights holders about users who distribute "counterfeit" digital content, without first obtaining a court order -- something they say has the potential to destroy the freedom of Internet.

Dunja Mijatovic, media freedom representative for the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, Tuesday urged the European Parliament to reject ACTA, which it is considering for ratification.

"In my role as the OSCE representative on Freedom of the Media, I am mandated to observe media freedom developments in the OSCE participating states and am concerned that the present agreement on ACTA might have a detrimental effect on freedom of expression and a free flow of information in the digital age," Mijatovic said in Vienna.

Her main concern, she said, is that ACTA "would authorize online service providers to disclose personal information of alleged copyright infringers to rights holders without a court order or the right to appeal, placing the decision on the legal status of content outside the established judicial framework."

The European Commission, however, counters that legal obligations of ISPs aren't changing under ACTA.

"ACTA will not change the role of (ISPs), as is often claimed," a EU position paper says.

Rather, the agreement complies with the Commission's 2000 E-Commerce Directive, which makes it "impossible" for the government to impose "general obligations for ISPs to monitor the information they transmit."

However, the commission noted a memorandum of understanding was struck between rights holders and ISPs in Brussels last year -- signed by such major Internet companies as Microsoft, eBay, Amazon and rights holders such as the Motion Picture Association.

It calls for prompt action by ISPs to police users and remove infringing material at the request of rights owners.

The memorandum states ISPs "commit to disclose … the identity and contact details of alleged infringers and their user names," but only "insofar as permitted by applicable data protection laws," which may require the obtaining of court orders in some countries.

If that's the case, the ISP retains the right to force the copyright holder to procure court authorization, the agreement states.

http://www.upi.com/Top_News/Special/2012/02/16/Netherlands-delays-ACTA-ratification/UPI-27281329395071/

Social networks can’t be forced to impose filters: EU court

Social networking websites cannot be forced to install filters preventing users from illegally sharing music and videos protected by copyright, the European Union's top court said on Thursday. The EU Court of Justice ruled that such an obligation to monitor content would go against EU rules that ensure a "fair balance" between protecting copyright and defending personal data and the freedom to conduct business. The case stemmed from a complaint filed by SABAM, a Belgian management company responsible for authorising the use of music of authors, composers and editors, against Netlog NV, a website based in Flanders. SABAM charged that Netlog enables users to post music and videos in SABAM's repertoire without the company's consent and without the website paying any fee. The management company sought an injunction from a Belgian court to force Netlog to stop allowing users to post such material and pay a EUR 1,000 penalty for each day it delays complying with the order. Netlog countered that such an order would amount to imposing a general obligation to monitor content in violation of the EU's E-commerce directive. The Luxembourg-based top court sided with Netlog.

http://www.ejc.net/media_news/social_networks_cant_be_forced_to_impose_filters_eu_court/

Bulgaria halts ratification of Internet pact

SOFIA — Bulgaria yesterday became the latest European country to back off from the controversial anti-online piracy pact ACTA, amid public pressure and fears it could curtail Internet freedom.
“I will propose to the government today to suspend all approval procedures for the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement,” Economy and Energy Minister Traicho Traikov told journalists.
“Bulgaria will not submit the agreement to parliament for ratification until EU member states come up with a common position on it,” he added.
Thousands marched in the capital Sofia on Saturday calling on parliament not to ratify the act. Similar rallies drew thousands of protesters across eastern Europe, as well as in Germany, France and Ireland.
The decision means Bulgaria will not take any action concerning ACTA before European Union member states come up with a unified position.
ACTA aims to cut trademark theft and tackle other online piracy but the accord has raised concerns, especially in eastern Europe, over online censorship and increased surveillance.
ACTA was signed in Japan last year between the 27-member European Union and 10 other countries, including the United States, Japan and Singapore in a bid to
bolster international standards for intellectual property protection.
But fears that ACTA may curtail online freedoms by attacking illegal downloading and Internet file-sharing have sparked angry protests from users across Europe.
Traikov insisted he was not backing off due to public pressure.
But he said the protests “made it clear that Bulgarian society is not ready to accept an act which raises even the slightest suspicions about possible infringement on Internet freedoms”.
He said he had consulted Prime Minister Boyko Borisov on his decision to freeze the pact and that it was expected to be approved at the government session today.
Many Bulgarians also fear the free download of movies and music, a common practice in the bloc’s poorest state, might lead to imprisonment if the treaty is ratified.
Negotiations over ACTA have been taking place for several years. Some European countries have signed ACTA but it has not yet been ratified in many countries.

http://main.omanobserver.om/node/83312

SOPA and the Future of Internet Governance

So what was all that fuss about?  SOPA, PIPA, Internet Blackout Day, front page stories in newspapers all across the country, eight million or so emails pouring into the White House, two million #sopa tweets, and 10 million signatures added to online petitions opposing the bills—followed, of course, by the announcement that these various legislative proposals for combating online copyright and trademark infringement had all been taken off the table “for further study.”

Latvians protest controversial Internet pact

RIGA — Hundreds of Latvians on Monday rallied Monday against the controversial Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement, amid objections it could hit Internet freedom.

Around 300 mainly young people braved sub-zero temperatures outside the Baltic state's cabinet office, following weekend demonstrations across Europe.

Economy Minister Daniels Pavluts -- who last week put the brakes on Latvia's ratification of the international agreement saying more consultation was needed -- came out to meet them.

"Your opinion has been heard, and I remind you that ratification of ACTA will not move forward without a discussion," Pavluts told the crowd, one of whom was detained for covering his face with the Guy Fawkes mask of "hacktivists" Anonymous.

ACTA was negotiated by the European Union, Australia, Japan, Canada, Mexico, Morocco, New Zealand, South Korea, Switzerland, Singapore and the United States.

Germany, not among the 22 EU members to have inked ACTA so far, last week froze moves to sign.

Signatories Poland and the Czech Republic have put their parliamentary ratification process on ice.

ACTA aims to beef up international standards for intellectual property protection, for example by doing more to fight counterfeit goods.

But it is its role on the Internet that has fuelled anger online and on the streets.

Critics say it gives copyright-holders too much clout, for example allowing them to use the battle against illegal downloading to force the closure of websites without the proof a court would demand.

Governments have come under fire for discussing the deal with industry players, but not Internet users' groups.

"We are protesting against ACTA but also against this way the government is working by first signing up and then waiting to see what the reaction would be," IT professional Janis Mucenieks told AFP.

Also protesting was cyber-activist Ilmars Poikans, who won fame in 2010 under the name "Neo" for releasing tax records of Latvia's elite.

"The main trouble is even if ACTA is dead there will be ACTA II or ACTA III, so the fight against such acts will probably be forever. ACTA is not hell on earth but it could open the door to hell on earth," he told AFP.

http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5iu71yn3CcaZWPXL8SyysJsVFdlpg?docId=CNG.8024d448f1359c57bab60aa9bbbe6e42.791

a week in e-democracy: Hollande in the footsteps of Obama?

Hollande in the footsteps of Obama?
Alongside the official website campaign, francoishollande.fr, the team of the socialist candidate for the French presidential election has just launched "All Hollande", a website for mobilizing activists. The objective is to organizing door to door and convince at least 5 million people to vote for him. Through targeting of priority areas with high potential to mobilize 10,000 activists will be trained to recruit 150,000 volunteers to go and meet directly voters. it is also possible to forward content to Facebook friends, invite them to join the candidate Facebook page, or make a donation. The strategy is directly inspired by the Obama campaign of 2008, which had shown that 14 abstainer met personally had moved to vote, 10,000 times more efficient than leaflets. The French socialist team is also accompanied by Blue State Digital, the agency headed by the Obama former online campaign director,  Joe Rospars, who came to Paris himself. The Internet campaign of Francois Hollande has a budget of 2 M€ and led by 35 people.

For the French centrist candidate, it's possible to mobilize in a funny way
The mobilization website of the centrist candidate, Francois Bayrou, is less rigid than the Holland team.  With Bayrou.fr/volunteers, the idea is to provide registered activists a choice of actions to perform, such as printing and distributing campaign leaflets to friends. Like Foursquare, the activist earn points for every action taken and may even earn badges. For Matthieu Lamarre, the digital campaign director of Francois Bayrou, "the idea was to offer a fun and accessible tool where the number of actions to be performed is not limited and which is designed to evolve throughout the campaign ". The site is optimized for iPad, iPhone and Android.

In Syria, the revolution involves also Internet
Impossible, of course, to put on the same level people who die by the bullets and those who use the networks to carry the revolution. But as in all conflicts, information warfare is real and it takes place today on the web where hundreds of emails from Syrian President Bashar Assad's office were leaked after an attack by the hacker group Anonymous. Some 78 inboxes of Assad's aides and advisers were hacked and the password that some used was "12345". The exchanges were published by Israeli newspaper Haaretz, including how Damascus is seeking to manipulate the American public.

The internet should be a demilitarised zone
The cyber war is no longer science fiction. We can not only access to confidential data, as illustrated by the syrian example, but it can also cause physical damage since the discovery in 2010 of Stuxnet, a real cyber weapon used against Iranian nuclear facilities. For Russian Eugene Kaspersky, cyber security specialist, countries should adopt treaty would create a cyber equivalent to the International Atomic Energy Authority, also reporting to the UN and with similar powers of inspection. "It would not eliminate cyber weapons completely, but it would improve the current situation a lot," he said.

 

http://www.edemocracy-forum.com/2012/02/hollande-bayrou-syrie-kaspersky.html

ACTA ignites concerns about threat to Internet freedom

By Josie Le Blond

BERLIN – Braving subzero temperatures, hundreds of thousands of Europeans across the continent took to the streets Saturday, protesting an international trade agreement many say will overrule democratic institutions, jeopardize civil liberties and stifle technological innovation.

The Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) is designed to put in place international standards to protect intellectual property rights. But some lawyers say it forces private companies to police cybertraffic — and across the globe the treaty is being seen as a serious threat to Internet freedom.

"It's becoming an issue of citizens' power," said David Hammerstein, senior adviser on intellectual property for Trans-Atlantic Consumer Dialogue, an umbrella consumer rights organization in Brussels. "The front lines of the defense of civil rights today is the defense of an open, free Internet and that (is what ACTA threatens.)"

Critics say that the details of ACTA have been decided behind closed doors, a deliberate move to slip the highly controversial agreement through without proper public scrutiny. They add that once they have signed up countries have no say in any subsequent changes to the treaty.

When the European Union signed ACTA on Jan. 26, the European Parliament's rapporteur on ACTA, Kader Arif, resigned, calling the entire process a "charade" designed to prevent the European Parliament having any say in an agreement that could have a "major impact on citizens' lives."

The European Parliament still needs to sign off on the treaty by June.

The agreement has been signed by 22 of the 27 EU member states, but countries including Germany and the Czech Republic have yet to do so, and some others are now backing off.

Slovenia's ambassador to Japan, Helena Drnovsek Zorko, has publicly apologized for signing the treaty, saying that it "limits and withholds the freedom of engagement on the largest and most significant network in human history, and thus limits particularly the future of our children."

Zorko also encouraged Slovenians to join demonstrations organized via Facebook against ACTA in Ljubljana last weekend. Thousands have already taken to the streets of the Slovene capital.

In Budapest, the anti-ACTA march was also the first demonstration of the "Occupy Budapest" movement. Crowds gathered in front of lawmakers' offices to listen to speakers, some of whom who wore masks to conceal their identity.

Protests shivered but said they were glad to be there.

"I am here to protest against others' rights to collect information about me that I never intended to share with them," said Aniko Kapeller, a graphic designer who lives in Budapest.

"ACTA does not only violate the rights of file-sharers while serving a small interest group, but also more severely limits the freedom of the Internet even more acutely," said Sandor Szorad, a student protesting in Budapest. "It provides for the unlimited surveillance of people's activities on the net, without giving them the benefit of the doubt. All freedom-loving people have to protest against this."

In Vilnius, Lithuania, the arctic weather kept many people at home. About 500 came to protest the ACTA treaty at a square near federal buildings even though 10 times that number registered to participate via Facebook. Protesters held signs reading "Corporations + governments = ACTA."

And across Germany, thousands marched against the treaty in Munich, Oldenburg and Berlin.

In Berlin, where a youthful crowd made for a carnival atmosphere, about 6,500 protesters were out on the street, according to police estimates. Organizers, who had been expecting 500, said the turnout was overwhelming. .

"It's so great to see so many young people brave the cold [to come out and protest] this issue," said Anne Meyer of Berlin.

Confronted with what some are calling the biggest public demonstrations in Poland's post-communist history, Prime Minister Donald Tusk has called a halt on ratifying the agreement.

"We all kind of went crazy over this issue," said Tusk during a debate over ACTA last weekend. "No other country saw such large-scale protests. We had almost hell here, which means that there is a problem with the (treaty)."

For Romanian exporters, "ACTA will help protect international markets, the intellectual and industrial property rights, copyrights, trademarks, patents and designs," said Ioana Muntean, a spokeswoman for the Romania government.

"Slovakia has already adopted a lot of legislation that matches ACTA: It means we already do what this treaty requires," said attorney Adriana Tomanova, director of the Slovak Association for Protecting Authors´ Rights.

In a joint statement on the governing Christian Democrats/Christian Social Union's website, deputy parliamentary party leader in the Bundestag Günter Krings and the rapporteur on copyright law for the German legal affairs committee Ansgar Heveling reiterated the party's commitment to "strong protection for intellectual property even in the digital age." But they stopped short of endorsing ACTA.

The most widespread criticism focuses on the fear that it will lead to Internet censorship by allowing Internet service providers to be held accountable for its customers' online content, something which Hammerstein likens to "asking the post office to be responsible for what is inside packages."

"In order to comply with ACTA, Internet providers would have to start monitoring the Internet and look at what individual users do in terms of file sharing and so on," said Joerg Hladjk a lawyer specializing in data privacy at Hunton & Williams' Brussels office. This he says, comes into direct conflict with fundamental rights under European data protection law.

Critics are also concerned that the treaty is ambiguous on what constitutes a breach of intellectual copyright protections, leaving courts in individual countries to decide.

"ACTA threatens honest Internet users who don't try to steal intellectual property," said Armands Leimanis of Latvia's anti-ACTA movement. "It is specifically dangerous for Latvians. Latvian copyright holders' organizations are incompetent, and if they are given more authority it will be dangerous."

Latvia withdrew ACTA from the ratification process in parliament this week in the face of mounting protests. And Slovakia has delayed putting the treaty into the ratification process.

Supporters of ACTA say the agreement is there to protect the rights of creative industries to earn money from their innovations and that ACTA is flexible enough to allow for a balance between competing interests. But some say that beyond copyright concerns, ACTA is an attempt to seize control of what has become an ungovernable realm where citizens are seen to have too much power.

"I think there is also a political agenda behind controlling Internet, aside from business (interests), where governments feel that the Internet is out of hand, it's out of control and (they) want to regain control," Hammerstein said. "There is a very fine line between political repression and IPR repression and we have seen it many countries, in Iran, in Russia, in China, where under the excuse of copyright there have been politically repressive measures."

Also, the treaty makes what have previously been civil and commercial disputes over intellectual property rights criminal matters. Critics say the threat of jail sentences and "sky's the limit" financial penalties could prevent the kind of innovation that has given the world Google, Skype, Facebook and Twitter.

The agreement was signed by the United States, Australia, Canada, Japan, Morocco, New Zealand, Singapore and South Korea in October last year. But with 2 million people signing an online petition against ACTA , activists hope the widespread anger among citizens will put a stop to Europe adopting the treaty.

"I think if people are on the streets protesting against it, the European Commission will rethink it," said Stephan Urbach of Germany's Pirate Party, which was involved in organizing the protests across Germany. "This is something that is bringing people all over Europe out on the streets, together on the same day, for the same reason. We have not had anything like that for years."

http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/story/2012-02-09/ACTA-protests/53040634/1

Bolivia: Law on Telecommunications and Information and Communication Technologies

The purpose of this analysis by ARTICLE 19 is to assess the new Bolivian Law on Telecommunications and Information and Communications Technologies (“the ICT Law”) by reference to international standards on freedom of expression.

In the analysis, ARTICLE 19 welcomes several features of the new Bolivian ICT Law. In particular, the Law seeks to guarantee universal access to Information and Communications Technology (“ICT”) services, notably by exempting providers and operators of ICT services in rural areas from certain tax duties. The ICT Law also promotes media pluralism by prohibiting ICT operators and providers from engaging in anti-competitive practices, including price-fixing and concentration; and it requires the installation of the necessary infrastructure for broadcast development in the digital age, namely the installation of fibre optic cables.

However, the ICT Law falls short of international standards for the protection of freedom of expression in several key respects. First, the ICT Law fails to guarantee the institutional autonomy and independence of the authority regulating ICTs. Second, the ICT Law entirely fails to lay down rules governing the structure of the regulatory authority, including its composition, appointment of its members, tenure, and accountability. Thirdly, the Law fails to provide for a clear and precise licensing process. Fourthly, the Law provides for an unduly harsh sanction, namely confiscation, in undefined circumstances. Finally, the Law gives the authorities carte blanche to request the cooperation of all telecommunications service operators and providers in cases of an emergency, without providing any safeguards against disproportionate emergency measures.

ARTICLE 19’s analysis includes detailed recommendations on how the ICT Law should be amended to meet the international freedom of expression standards and calls on the government to urgently review and amend the ICT Law accordingly.

Key recommendations 

1. The autonomy and independence of the Telecommunications and Transport Regulatory and Supervisory Authority should be guaranteed and protected by law, including in the following ways: (a) specifically and explicitly in the legislation which establishes the body and, if possible, also in the constitution; (b) by a clear legislative statement of overall broadcast policy, as well as of the powers and responsibilities of the regulatory body; (c) through the rules relating to membership; (d) by formal accountability to the public through a multi-party body; and (e) in funding arrangements.
2. The licensing process should be more clearly defined in the law, not regulations. This should cover clear eligibility requirements, clear licensing and licence renewal procedures, objective assessment criteria, a right to amend licensing conditions and a schedule of licence fees applicable for each type of licence.
3. Article 96 of the ICT Law, which concerns seizure, should be repealed, or in the alternative, should be amended to include a definition of the circumstances in which the regulatory authority may seize materials belonging to ICT operators and providers.
4. Emergency powers requiring ICT operators and providers to make their services, networks, and communications going through those networks, available to the authorities upon request should be repealed.

http://www.article19.org/resources.php/resource/2950/en/bolivia:-law-on-telecommunications-and-information-and-communication-technologies?utm_source=ARTICLE+19+Mailing+List&utm_campaign=020d73885f-The_week_in_free_expression_2_9_2012&utm_medium=email

Czech Republic, Slovakia freeze anti-piracy pact

PRAGUE — Czech Prime Minister Petr Necas said Monday his country would freeze plans to ratify a controversial international online anti-piracy accord after mounting off-and-online protests.

"The cabinet cannot accept a situation in which the bedrock of liberty and free access to information is endangered," Necas was quoted as saying by the Czech news agency CTK.

He said the government would undertake a thorough review of the "real world" impact of ratifying the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA).

The Czech Republic is one of 22 European countries that last month signed up to ACTA, which aims to set up international standards for intellectual property protection but has sparked fears it could curtail online freedom.

Despite mounting outcry among Internet users, governments gave a nod to ACTA with an initial signature of endorsement, but ratification by parliament is needed for it to come into force.

Later Monday, neighbouring Slovakia also suspended its ratification process, with Economy Minister Juraj Miskov saying a wide public debate needed to be initiated before the process could continue.

"I will not support a treaty that could limit human rights and freedoms," Miskov said in a statement.

The decision by the Czech and Slovaks government comes in the wake of a move last week by Poland, which also froze its ratification process.

ACTA was negotiated between the 27-nation European Union, Australia, Canada, Mexico, Morocco, New Zealand, Japan, Singapore, South Korea, Switzerland and the United States.

Governments have come under fire for signing the accord after talks with record companies and commercial media, while allegedly failing to do enough to address groups representing Internet users.

"ACTA is a serious attack in civil liberties in the Czech Republic. We're convinced parliament shouldn't ratify it," said Mikulas Ferjencik, deputy leader of the local Pirate Party based on the Swedish cyber-freedom movement of the same name.

In addition to street rallies and online protests, anti-ACTA "hacktivists" have also launched cyber attacks on the Czech government and Necas's ODS party.

http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5gguBSrXtQKnr0famyhxMlNK2plDQ?docId=CNG.956cc047c755305c8ad4580183554bcc.71

EU publishes 10 Myths about ACTA

Following its signature to the ACTA agreement in Tokyo last week, the EU has published ’10 Myths about ACTA’. It’s purpose is to counter the many criticisms about the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement, and is part of a current EU campaign to demonstrate that ACTA is misunderstood.

The document asserts that negotiations were not secret, that ACTA will require no changes to EU law, that it preserves existing safeguards, does not threaten trade in generic medicines and does not impose a ‘3 strikes’ system for internet infringements. But these assertions are widely challenged.

A report in the Guardian newspaper shows that Kader Arif, the French MEP who lead the ACTA negotiations and resigned in protest at its signature, remains highly critical and contradicts the 10 myths document. “He said that it now threatens online freedom, access to the use of generic versions of drugs for treating illnesses, and could potentially mean that someone crossing a border who has a single song or film on their computer could face criminal charges,” says the Guardian.

James Firth, the CEO at the Open Digital Policy Organization, has similar concerns. Attempts to criminalize actions traditionally dealt with in the civil courts in the UK, he told Infosecurity, “opens up the strong possibility that a simple misunderstanding, for example in relation to a work which has entered the public domain in one country but not in another, will result in a criminal conviction and even a prison sentence.” 

He gave us a specific example. “A researcher working in a commercial environment,” he said, “importing the text of Orwell's classic Nineteen Eighty Four from Australia (where it is in the public domain) to Europe (where it is not until 2020) faces the same criminal sanctions as a trader flogging knock-off copies of The King's Speech.”

The European Digital Rights organization (EDRi) has its own concerns. It points out in its latest newsletter that there is currently “an intensive lobby-campaign meant for the European Parliament. In three documents, DG TRADE tries to convince the European Parliamentarians that ACTA is simply misunderstood...” But EDRi retains deep concerns, not least that it will change the current view that ISPs are primarily carriers (like postal delivery services) not ultimately responsible for content. ACTA asserts “that limitations on liability of Internet service providers can only be permitted if the interests of rightsholders are first taken into account.”

Although the lobbyists suggest that ACTA will not limit civil liberties, “they fail to explain,” writes EDRi, “how prioritising repressive measures aimed for copyright protection over fundamental rights such as the right to privacy or freedom of communication without guarantees of due process and equality of arms will not have any limitation effects on fundamental rights.”

“I understand why the EU felt the need to address criticism of ACTA,” Firth told us. “We know the agreement is not as bad as many critics argue, but it's not great either... As it stands the treaty can't now be modified; the EU and member states are faced with a simple choice - sign or not sign.”

http://www.infosecurity-us.com/view/23658/eu-publishes-10-myths-about-acta/