European Parliament passes resolution against ACTA

European Parliament

The European Parliament has passed a motion insisting that any negotiations of the controversial ACTA treaty should safeguard the rights of citizens and local ISPs.

The Written Declaration 12/2010 was supported by 377 European MPs, and calls on the negotiators to respect the right of privacy for citizens, and for the European Commission to be transparent in its dealings on the treaty.

"The European Parliament takes the view that ISPs should not bear liability for the data they transmit or host through their services to an extent that would necessitate prior surveillance or filtering of such data," it reads.

The motion has no binding effect on the European Commission, which is currently in negotiations over the ACTA treaty.

"Written Declaration 12/2010 is a strong political signal sent by the European Parliament to the Commission that ACTA is not tolerable as a way of bypassing democratic processes," said Jérémie Zimmermann, a spokesman for citizen advocacy group La Quadrature du Net.

"Legislation related to the internet, freedom of speech and privacy cannot be negotiated in secrecy under the direct influence of entertainment industry lobbies.

"Citizens will need to act courageously to make sure that their internet and their fundamental freedoms are properly defended. Full rejection of ACTA is the only option."

The latest leaked copy of the ACTA treaty states that it will "address the problem of copyright or related rights infringement which takes place by means of digital networks in a manner that balances the rights of the relevant right holders, online service providers and users of those networks".

Gwen Hinze, international director at the Electronic Frontier Foundation, added: "Let's hope that EU negotiators now recognise that ACTA should protect the fundamental rights of all citizens and net users, and not just the narrow interests of major content businesses."