European Parliament votes down Acta treaty 4 July 2012 (photo, EP)
GENEVA, SWITZERLAND – The European Parliament voted down Acta today, sending a clear message that the treaty is not wanted, but a less clear message about what comes next.
IP Watch, an industry publication based in Geneva noted, “Today’s overwhelming defeat of the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) by the European Parliament could have a resounding effect on the treaty’s prospects for survival, according to sources. Meanwhile, public interest groups are celebrating and copyright holders fuming.”
Wired cheered on the European Parliament with a more blunt analysis, “The vote, 478-39, means the deal won’t come into effect in European Union-member nations, and effectively means the global accord is dead.”
AP/Washington Post reported on Europe’s failure to back the treaty it helped create, citing fears that “the agreement would have permitted private companies to spy on the activities of Internet users and would have allowed users to be disconnected without due process”, the latter a reference to a US clause that was dropped a year ago, according to Wired.
