SOPA’s big brother signed by EU nations amid widespread protests
The European Union signed up to the controversial Anti Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) on Thursday despite widespread opposition, particularly in Poland, where people took to the streets in protest.
The agreement was officially signed in Tokyo by 22 European member states. Cyprus, Estonia, Slovakia, Germany and the Netherlands did not sign, but committed to do so in the near future, according to the European Parliament's Green party.
The agreement seeks to enforce intellectual property rights and combat online piracy and illegal software. But opponents of ACTA claim it goes far beyond the U.S.' doomed SOPA (Stop Online Piracy Act) legislation and encourages ISPs to police the internet without any legal safeguards. SOPA is being revised after receiving broad criticism.
The ACTA agreement, meanwhile, has been mired in controversy from the beginning due to secrecy imposed by the U.S. and worries that it may not uphold E.U. rules on data privacy. The most controversial paragraph in the final text leaves the door open for countries to introduce the so-called three-strikes rule, which would require Internet users to be cut off if they continue to download copyright material after receiving two warnings, as national authorities would be able to order ISPs to disclose personal information about customers. Read more...
EU data protection reform to replace national laws
The European Union wants to replace a mishmash of national laws on data protection with one bloc-wide reform, updating laws put in place long before Facebook and other social networking sites even existed.
EU Justice Commissioner Viviane Reding said Monday that social networks must become more open about how they operate. Under her proposals, businesses — including Internet service providers — would have additional responsibilities, such as having to inform users of what data about them is being collected, for what purpose, and how it is stored. Read more...
EU antitrust regulators give Microsoft-Skype deal green light
Antitrust regulators in the European Union today approved Microsoft's $8.5 billion acquisition of Skype, the online telephone and chat giant.
"The Commission considers that there are no competition concerns in this growing market where numerous players, including Google, are present," the European Commission, the EU's antitrust agency, said in a statement today, referring to competition concerns for consumers, who make up the bulk of Skype's customers.
The commission also dismissed concerns that the deal would stifle competition in the enterprise communication market. Read more...