Big tech accountability? Read how we got here in  The Closing of the Net 

The European Commission may have hoped that sending ACTA (Anti-counterfeiting Trade agreement) to the European Court of Justice would calm the protests. But this week-end saw thousands once again filling the streets across  many  European countries.  One of the  biggest was in Copenhagen, where a crowd of some 15,000 people marched up to the doors of the Danish Parliament. Throughout France, Germany,  and eastern Europe there were protests which look set to become part of the European Spring political calendar.

 The Copenhagen  protest  culminated in a mass rally outside the Danish Parliament. A noisy but peaceful crowd shouted 'ned med ACTA' which I believe means 'down with ACTA'. Speakers included Ole Hoflund from  Amnesty International,  and the march was accompanied by a brass band.

 In  Prague, police escorted a ‘stop ACTA’ march through the streets.  Many German town hall squares from Chemnitz and Magdeburg in the east to Koblenz and Dusseldorf in the west  were  for the second time  this year filled with Stop Acta banners and megaphones calling for a free Internet. Similarly, there were anti-ACTA protests outside town halls  in many French towns. In Strasbourg,  a 200-strong group marched up to the European Parliament.

 In Rouen,  ‘liberty’ was symbolically buried in a coffin laid down in the town square.

 Other protests  against ACTA  were held in Budapest, Bregenz (Austria), Gothenberg, Novi Sad and Belgrade in Serbia, and Rotterdam (Holland).

 It is still not entirely clear who is behind the ACTA demonstrations. But  it looks very much as though it is coming from the hacker community and the group calling itself Anonymous.

 Anonymous France has gone  to some pains to separate itself from other protests, such as the occupy campaigns. A promotional video tells people to march peacefully, and not to bring anything which the police could decide to confiscate, including such things as tents.

 A key  message from them is to protect our fundamental freedoms in the Internet space, notably freedom of speech and privacy. Their fear is that the measures entailed in ACTA will inevitably result in surveillance and hence an attack on both of those freedoms. It is probably no coincidence that the biggest anti-ACTA marches are in eastern Europe, the region which has most recently experienced authoritarian regimes and state surveillance.

 There is one reason whypolicy-makers  might wish to listen to them. If anyone would know what can be done surreptitiously on the Internet, it is a hacker.

 The next wave of ACTA protests is already in the calendar for 10 March. Venues and timing tbc, as far as I understand it.

 You may re-publish my article under a Creative Commons licence, but you should cite my name and provide a link back to iptegrity.com. Media and Academics – please cite as Monica Horten, Ned med acta! 15,000 march on Danish Parliament  www.iptegrity.com 26 February  2012 . Commercial users - please contact me.

copyrightenforcement.enigma.book.launch.european.parliament.2012.jpg

Iptegrity in brief

 

Iptegrity.com is the website of Dr Monica Horten. I’ve been analysing analysing digital policy since 2008. Way back then, I identified how issues around rights can influence Internet policy, and that has been a thread throughout all of my research. I hold a PhD in EU Communications Policy from the University of Westminster (2010), and a Post-graduate diploma in marketing.   I’ve served as an independent expert on the Council of Europe  Committee on Internet Freedoms, and was involved in a capacity building project in Moldova, Georgia, and Ukraine. I am currently (from June 2022)  Policy Manager - Freedom of Expression, with the Open Rights Group. For more, see About Iptegrity

Iptegrity.com is made available free of charge for  non-commercial use, Please link-back & attribute Monica Horten. Thank you for respecting this.

Contact  me to use  iptegrity content for commercial purposes

 

States v the 'Net? 

Read The Closing of the Net, by me, Monica Horten.

"original and valuable"  Times higher Education

" essential read for anyone interested in understanding the forces at play behind the web." ITSecurity.co.uk

Find out more about the book here  The Closing of the Net

PAPERBACK /KINDLE

FROM £15.99

Copyright Enforcement Enigma launch, March 2012

In 2012, I presented my PhD research in the European Parliament.

The politics of copyright

A Copyright Masquerade - How corporate lobbying threatens online freedoms

'timely and provocative' Entertainment Law Review


 

Don't miss Iptegrity! Iptegrity.com  RSS/ Bookmark