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| Protesters wearing Anonymous Guy Fawkes masks take part in a demonstration against controversial Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) (AFP Photo/Jean-Philippe Ksiazek) |
Lawmakers
in Holland have voted to strike down the international Anti-Counterfeiting
Trade Agreement (ACTA), slammed by many as a free speech and information access
choker. Dutch MPs have also ruled the government will never sign any such
agreement.
The Dutch
parliamentarians have opted not to wait for the EU’s vote on ACTA which is set
for June, with consultations kicking off already this Thursday.
"The
treaty should be taken off table, whatever the decision the European Parliament
should take," said MP Kees Verhoeven, a major sponsor of Tuesday’s motion
in the Dutch Parliament.
Lisa Neves
Goncalves, a spokeswoman for the Dutch Ministry of Economic Affairs,
Agriculture and Innovation, said the government had earlier this year stated it
would not sign off on the treaty until it was clear it did not breach the Dutch
or EU constitution.
As the
controversial bill is making its slow way through the EU Parliament, the UK
Pirate Party, the Open Rights Group (ORG) and the French La Quadrature Du Net
are calling for more anti-bill rallies.
"The
votes this Thursday, in three of the Committees responsible for offering
'Opinions' on the treaty, will really affect whether the European Parliament
ultimately rejects ACTA or not. It is important that your MEP understand
people's concerns. And calling your MEP will help make this happen," says
the Open Rights Group in a blog post.
ACTA is an
international agreement aimed at protecting intellectual property. It somewhat
resembles the US’s Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA), which was shelved by lawmakers
after protests.
The
European Union suspended efforts to ratify the treaty in February amid a storm
of protest from activists who say the agreement would stifle free speech and
access to information.
Thousands demonstrated across the EU against giving big
firms the power to ban people from using the Internet for illegally swapping
files. Twenty-two countries in the bloc signed up to the agreement, with a vote
on its ratification due this summer in Brussels.
The US,
most of the EU, Australia, Canada, Japan and several other countries have
signed the ACTA treaty, but none of these signatories' parliaments have yet
ratified it. This last step would make the agreement viable. As soon as ACTA is
ratified by any six nations, the convention will come into force.
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Neelie Kroes backs ACTA protests
Anti-piracy ACTA treaty referred to EU high court
Acta protests: Thousands take to streets across Europe
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| Marchers in London gathered outside British Music House, home to several major rights holders |
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