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| Marchers in London gathered outside British Music House, home to several major rights holders |
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Thousands
of people have taken part in co-ordinated protests across Europe in opposition
to a controversial anti-piracy agreement.
Significant
marches were held in Germany, Poland and the Netherlands against the
Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (Acta).
Around 200
protesters gathered in central London outside the offices of several major
rights holders.
Demonstrators
argued that Acta will limit freedom of speech online.
However the
agreement's supporters insist it will not alter existing laws, and will instead
provide protection for content creators in the face of increasing levels of
online piracy.
The treaty
has to date been signed by 22 EU members, including the UK, but has yet to be
ratified by the European Parliament. A debate is due to take place in June.
On Friday,
Germany delayed signing the agreement in order to, a spokesman said, "give
us time to carry out further discussions".
'In secret'
Saturday's
London demonstration was supported by the Open Rights Group, a vocal opponent
to the treaty. The group's executive director, Jim Killock, argued that
Germany's stance shows Acta negotiations were carried out "in secret"
by EU "bureaucrats".
What is
Acta?
- The Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement is an international treaty aiming to standardise copyright protection measures.
- It seeks to curb trade of counterfeited physical goods, including copyrighted material online.
- Preventative measures include possible imprisonment and fines.
- Critics argue that it will stifle freedom of expression on the internet, and it has been likened to the controversial Stop Online Piracy Act (Sopa).
- Acta has been signed by 22 EU members, including the UK, but is yet to be ratified by the European Parliament.
"Three
member states in Europe are now looking like they don't want to sign," he
told the BBC.
"That
shows that politicians are only really starting to look at this now. All of a
sudden, the whole thing is breaking down."
Poland, the
Czech Republic and Slovakia have already delayed the process after significant
pressure from mostly young people.
"The
point today is to say Acta is undemocratic," Mr Killock added.
"It's
lacked scrutiny, it's setting up dangerous new pressures to censor the internet
to remove users and put pressure on [Internet Service Providers] to start
policing for copyright."
More
demonstrations were held in other UK cities, including Edinburgh and Glasgow.
Anonymous
hackers
The
anti-Acta movement has also been widely adopted by members of the Anonymous
activist collective, which has claimed responsibility for putting high-profile
government websites out of action, including that of the Polish prime minister.
Speaking at
the London protest Loz Kaye, leader of the Pirate Party UK, dismissed worries
that aligning closely with Anonymous - whose members carry out various illegal
activities online - was harmful to their cause.
"What
we've seen is a whole wave of people coming out on the streets right across
Europe," he told the BBC.
 |
| The Open Rights Group's Jim Killock called the agreement undemocratic" |
"Some
people have been called extreme, but equally, Amnesty International, Médecins
Sans Frontières have spoken out. Even The Economist, which is hardly radical,
has described the treaty as potentially draconian."
'Greater
transparency'
The BBC
contacted several key rights holders prior to the demonstration - all of which
declined to comment.
The UK's
Intellectual Property Office has maintained that Acta "should not"
mean new laws relating to internet use.
In a
statement, Baroness Wilcox, parliamentary under-secretary for Business,
Innovation and Skills, told the BBC: "It was important for the UK to be a
signatory of Acta as it will set an international standard for tackling
large-scale infringements of [intellectual property rights], through the
creation of common enforcement standards and more effective international
cooperation.
"During
the negotiations, we continually pushed for greater transparency as we believed
that this would have led to a better understanding of the agreement by the
public."
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