The Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) was signed yesterday by the European Commission, leading to protests across Europe but especially in Poland where thousands of citizens took to the streets over concerns of online censorship.

Some EU leaders are unhappy as well. Kader Arif, the European Parliament’s rapporteur for ACTA, resigned over the issue on Friday, saying he had witnessed “never-before-seen manoeuveres” by the officials responsible for crafting the treaty.

In a statement, Arif said: “I condemn the whole process which led to the signature of this agreement: no consultation of the civil society, lack of transparency since the beginning of negotiations, repeated delays of the signature of the text without any explanation given, reject of Parliament’s recommendations as given in several resolutions of our assembly.”

22 EU member states including the UK signed the agreement on Thursday, though it still needs to be ratified by the European Parliament before it can be enacted. A June debate has been scheduled before ratification.

US Rep. Darrell Issa (R-CA) a leading opponent of SOPA, has called the agreement more dangerous than the bills stalled in congres.

“As a member of Congress, it’s more dangerous than SOPA,” he said at the World Economic Forum in Davos.

“It’s not coming to me for a vote. It purports that it does not change existing laws. But once implemented, it creates a whole new enforcement system and will virtually tie the hands of Congress to undo it.”

What Does ACTA Mean For The US?

Secrecy has made it difficult for members of the media and citizens and elected officials in participating countries to understand the implications of the agreement. And while some documents have been leaked, the process remains largely opaque.

ConnyRaSk wrote:(just signed) Thanks for posting it!

I'd still like a reply to my questions, mainly, who is likely to benefit the most (monaterily, that is) from this "agreement"?

Poland saw massive protests yesterday due to the government’s intention to sign ACTA. The government went ahead and signed it despite the protests from the public.

The people did have a few heroes in government yesterday, however, with officials from the Palikot’s Movement wearing Guy Fawkes masks in protest. As many are aware, Guy Fawkes is the official mascot for Anonymous.

It was presumably a call out to the Internet community who are vehemently against ACTA.

All is not lost in Poland though as a Redditor points out that while ACTA was signed in by the government yesterday, it still has to be approved by a majority of parliament and then the President who can veto it.

The Alliance of Liberals and Democrats in the European Parliament announced today that it cannot support ACTA (the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement).

Guy Verhofstadt, ALDE group leader said that "Although we unambiguously support the protection of intellectual property rights, we also champion fundamental rights and freedoms. We have serious concerns that ACTA does not strike the right balance."