Protesters
have hit Germany's streets again to show their oppostion to the global
anti-piracy treaty, ACTA. Several European governments, including Germany, have
already postponed signing the controversial agreement.
Anti-ACTA
Protesters marched in dozens of cities across Germany over the weekend, with
the biggest demonstration of around 2,000 people taking place in Munich.
Rallies in
Hamburg, Frankfurt, Stuttgart, Mannheim and Leipzig attracted more than a 1,000
people each, while numerous smaller demonstrations took place across the
country.
ACTA, as
the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement is known, aims to fight the
counterfeiting of goods like fake Gucci sunglasses and copied pharmaceutical
drugs. It is also designed to reduce online piracy such as the illegal
downloads of music, films and software, which the industry says is costing
millions in lost revenue around the world.
Critics
argue the measures to combat counterfeiting outlined in ACTA could force
telecommunication companies to watch over and pass on customers' online
movements to the government - which, in turn, could stifle free expression on
the Internet.
Internet
generation
Many of
those against ACTA are in their teens and early 20s, which is hardly surprising
considering that the anti-ACTA demonstrations are mainly about the Internet.
 |
| Some protesters have donned Guy Fawkes masks |
One of
those protesting on Saturday was Filip (who, like all of those at the rally,
preferred not to reveal his last name). A clean-cut computer science student
enrolled at the prestigious Karlsruhe University of Technology, Filip had never
attended a protest before in his life.
"The
Internet is important enough for me to come out in the cold weather and stand
around and support everyone who is here to not pass the act," he said at
the protest in the south-western town of Karlsruhe, which was attended by several
hundred people.
"I
don't want my Internet provider to be watching every more I make," he
said, his voice almost drowned out by those around him cheering and clapping in
support of the protest speakers.
Fourteen-year-old
high school student Michael came to the rally to defend his right to download
music.
"I
can't afford the music I want to listen to and music should be available to
everyone," he said, adding it was unjust for Germany to consider banning
people from using the Internet who were repeatedly caught illegally downloading
content like music and videos.
"Society
today only takes place online, and if you don't have Internet access, then you
can't be part of society anymore," he said.
The
Federation of German Industries (BDI) has voiced support for ACTA. "It is
not a right to use someone else's property for free," said BDI legal
expert, Heiko Willems. "Copyright-holders have to decide for themselves if
they will make their creations freely available or available on a commercial basis."
For 23-year-old
student Shushu, the issue of illegal music and film downloads needs to be
tackled in a different way.
 |
| Critics say copyright laws should be more thoroughly revamped, rather than tightening Internet regulations |
"The
content industry needs to make us an offer of how we can legally do this, by
accepting a cultural flat-rate fee or setting a monthly streaming fee without
having to turn people into criminals," she said.
ACTA on ice
Several
countries such as the United States, Canada, Japan and South Korea have already
ratified ACTA. And up until a few months ago, ACTA seemed like a done deal in
Europe as well.
In December
last year, the European Council representing the European heads of government
unanimously agreed to pass ACTA and the agreement was signed by 22 of the 27
European member states. ACTA can't be passed into European law, however, until
every one of the European Union's member states agrees to it.
The problem
for ACTA is that several European countries, including Germany, Poland the
Netherlands, have postponed signing the agreement after a wave of Europe-wide
protests over the past month.
In
addition, the European Commission last week said it would refer ACTA to
Europe's highest court, the European Court of Justice, to determine whether it
limited the "EU's fundamental rights and freedoms."
Back at the
Karlsruhe rally, the crowd marched through the streets chanting, "ACTA, ad
acta," a play on a Latin expression used in German to archive something.
"We
will keep protesting until ACTA has not just been postponed but shelved for
good," one of the protesters said.
Author: Kate Hairsine
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