ACTA didn't stand a chance in the age of the social internet

The Guardian news reported that the dismissal of ACTA, the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement, by the European parliament has left the treaty's opponents delighted, and its supporters – who principally work in the industries that rely on copyright and trademarks, whether virtual or physical, for their living – downhearted.

ACTA's creators had the poor luck – or lack of foresight – to create their baby in what feels like the Jurassic age of the social internet. They also made the bad decision to negotiate it in secret – the sort of thing that drives conspiracy theorists wild, but which is also sure to get anyone's antennae a bit twitchy. After all, if an agreement is for everyone's good, then why do its terms have to be kept secret? (The answer – that multipartite negotiations are kept secret because many sides adopt extreme negotiating positions they might not want publicised just in order to, well, negotiate – is inconvenient, but true.)

به گزارش خبرگزاری دوچوله پارلمان اروپا روز چهارشنبه با رایی قاطع، طرح جنجالی «اکتا» را رد کرد. فعالان آزادی اینترنت پیش‌تر هشدار می‌دادند که تصویب این طرح «مدافع کپی‌رایت» به افزایش سانسور و نقض آزادی‌های دیجیتال کاربران منجر خواهد شد.