On Wednesday, ACTA, the anti-piracy agreement, was comprehensively defeated in the European Parliament with 478 votes against, 39 in favour, and 165 abstentions. In a symbolic gesture several members of the Green Party held banners reading: “Hello Democracy, Goodbye ACTA”.
Despite the 22 members states in favour, including UK, other members decided to not back up the agreement due to the civil whistle-blowing on the infringement of internet freedom by ACTA.
Initially sparked by massive protests in Poland last January, the anti-ACTA movement led to protests throughout several European cities. In addition petitions were made, with 2.8 million signatures gathered by the Avaaz group alone. Alex Wilks, anti-ACTA campaigner for Avaaz, said the agreement would have permitted private companies to spy on the Internet users’ activities and allowed users to be disconnected without due process.
Call us cynical, but we doubt this will be the end of Babylon’s attempts to nose through our browser history. New attempts for a tighter control of the web will follow, with legislation such as the “Snoopers' Charter” just around the corner. To access more information on your digital rights go to http://www.openrightsgroup.org/