Here at The Inquisitr we have been writing about ACTA since before it because the hot button topic following the Internet driven collapse of the US SOFA and PIPA bills. I personally have long consider this to be an extremely dangerous treaty and have made my opinion clear on that matter more than a few times.
So it is good to see that the the wider Internet has woken up to the dangers that ACTA brings to the table as well as bringing the whole thing out from under the veil of secrecy that both governments and industry proponents have tried to hide it under.
The opposition to ACTA was further bolster today when the EU Trade Commissioner Karel De Gucht took the unprecedented step by putting a freeze on any further attempts to ratify ACTA, in Europe at least, and send the whole matter to the European Court of Justice for a legal opinion.
What the court is being asked is whether the treaty, as well as its implementation, complies with the EU’s fundamental rights and freedoms.
“Let me be very clear: I share people’s concern for these fundamental freedoms … especially over the freedom of the Internet,” De Gucht said in a statement reported by the BBC . “This debate must be based upon facts, and not upon the misinformation and rumour that has dominated social media sites and blogs in recent weeks.”
via VentureBeat
Currently the treaty has been signed by the US, Japan, UK, and Canada – who by the way really needs to reconsider and do what ever they can to pull their ratification of the treaty because as a Canadian citizen I, like a lot of other citizens vehemently disagree with the treaty.
h/t to electronista / image courtesy of VentureBeat
