More News On ACTA - The Agreement Has Been Stalled By EU Commission

By seamus -

The controversial ACTA trade agreement has been put on hold by the European Commission, as the body intends to pursue the aid of the European Court of Justice to decide whether the treaty violates any fundamental rights.
This represents a fundamental step forward for us EU citizens, as one of the most dangerous accords that could have severely compromised our privacy is now being delayed, with several countries now refusing to ratify ACTA on those grounds. Which I think is a big plus given that it takes all 27 member countries of the EU to agree on ACTA for it to ever become the standard.
Meanwhile, EU Commissioner Karel De Gucht considers that ACTA does not violate the EU’s rights of freedom of expression and freedom of information, as "ACTA will not censor websites or shut them down; ACTA will not hinder freedom of the Internet or freedom of speech."
So far so good - at least things are moving in a good direction with ACTA. We'll have to wait and see what the European Court of Justice decides. In the meantime, protests over ACTA in countries such as Germany, Poland and the Netherlands continue.

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