Pirate Party UK Joins Anti-ACTA Day

February 9, 2012 by Yonah
Filed under: Announcements & Events

The Internet as we know it might end once ACTA (Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement) is put in force which is why there have been so many protests against what appears to be a major threat to the freedom of the Web.

The Pirate Party UK announced its support for an international day of action against controversial copyright agreement ACTA on Saturday. Protests will include the cities of London, Glasgow and Nottingham.

Torrents of protests against ACTA already occurred in other countries such as Poland where the government websites have been hacked by the digital activist group Anonymous.

Although similar protests and political opposition have managed to put SOPA (the Stop Online Piracy Act) to a standstill, Loz Kaye, leader of the UK Pirate Party does have a major point when he emphasizes that “…the threats to digital rights and civil liberties aren’t over. It’s vital that we send a clear message that the people of Europe don’t want ACTA.”

A call to arms has been also launched by Finlay Archibald, spokesman for Pirate Party Scotland: “I hope to see many of my fellow citizens out next Saturday to demand that free speech and privacy online be eroded no further, and to let the political establishment know that they cannot simply bypass democracy like this without people noticing.”

Advocators of ACTA claim this agreement is necessary for an efficient management of international standards in connection to various copyright vulnerable fields including movie, music, and fashion industries. UK joined more than 20 other EU member states in signing off this agreement which has been also credited by US and awaits its debate by the European Parliament this summer.

Tags: ACTA, internet freedom, SOPA, UK, US