Kaarel Tamm emails from Estonia:
Keep an eye on the hundreds of protests that will take place in Europe on Saturday (2/11). See Google Map for the planned protests: http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?msid=212120558776447282985.0004b7b33e16f13c710c7&msa=0ACTA is an international trade agreement negotiated by the European Union, the United States, Japan, Canada, South Korea, Australia, Mexico, Morocco, Singapore as well as a few other countries, whose aim is to enforce copyright and tackle counterfeited goods (hence its acronym: Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement). The negotiations were done secretly, keeping the public and civil organizations away from the table.
People tend to take this ACTA issue very seriously over here. I can't speak for the entire Europe, but the people of Estonia are really fired up and angry. Some are upset because of ACTA, others are disappointed about how this matter is being handled by the Parliament. A few days ago our PM Ansip was testifying before the Parliament and said that he was in favor of ACTA. Not only did he know very little about it, but he went on to suggest that those who are against it must be on drugs. He said ''the critics must have eaten some seeds and not those kind of seeds we grow in our fields.'' He added: ''It might be helpful to put tinfoil in your hat,'' referring to some kind of UFO/alien mind-control thing.
Facebook is literally filled with anti-ACTA discussions. And now our PM Ansip has become an Internet meme, along with our earlier PM Laar, who tried to censor ACTA discussions on his FB wall a few weeks ago by deleting them. When asked about this, he went on to explain that HE didn't delete anything. Rather they were deleted automatically, as Facebook (i.e. Internet) was getting full. He too became an Internet meme.
At this point, about 5000+ Estonians have promised on FB to attend the protests. That doesn't seem like a lot, but it's about 0.45% of our population (The same percentage would bring 1.4 million people to the streets in the States). Another 3000+ are down on maybe. God knows how many more are going.
I guess what I'm trying to say is that the ''Arab spring'' has really changed the way youngsters live and breathe. People are waking up to the fact that they are in charge (and not some politician).
ACTA goes far beyond protecting copyright and provides for governments to essentially shut down internet web sites at will.
It's very encouraging to see resistance to not only SOPA in the US, but ACTA internationally.
ReplyDeleteThe Internet is a lifejacket in the sea of worldwide statism. And it's apparent that people all over the world understand it significance.
Governments naturally want to control everything under the Sun, but by going after the Internet, they may be messing with the straw that breaks the camels back (the Stamp Act comes to mind).