Labour keeps up ACTA attack

Updated: media release from EU on transparency of ACTA negotiations HERE.

The Labour party is keeping up its attack on the anti-counterfeiting trade agreement, accusing the prime minister of alienating opponents of ACTA with legal amendments to safeguard internet users' digital rights.

"ACTA has to be accepted word for word... there are no amendments to it," Labour MP Michael Farrugia said.

There is little doubt that the Maltese government will not ratify ACTA in parliament, as the European Union needs the signatures and ratification from all 27 member states to go ahead with the cross-border enforcement instrument, despite popular opposition against ACTA.

Labour has so far insisted that ACTA should not go forwards: "Lawrence Gonzi is proposing a Bill that will alienate and stop the criticism against GonziPN. While we have yet to see what this Bill says, we know it cannot go one step beyond ACTA, which the government already supports.

"Gonzi's government is interested in safeguarding its temporary interests due to the possibility of early elections."

Gonzi has stated that while the government recognises the ongoing debate on ACTA as well as the need to protect authors' rights and intellectual property, he was not in favour of any measures that could potentially suffocate citizens' rights to acquire, share or communicate information.

The European Commission and ACTA proponents are insisting that current safeguards are already in place within EU legislation such as the e-commerce directive, which is enshrined in Maltese law.

The EC is also insisting that ACTA targets commercial-scale acts of counterfeit and pirate trade that originates from non-EU countries, and that law courts understand such trade to be large-scale and seeking to make profit - and not peer-to-peer downloads, as claimed by ACTA critics.

Farrugia is insisting that ACTA "does not fall within the parameters of rights" mentioned by Lawrence Gonzi.

"ACTA goes against our fundamental rights in both IT and other sectors, such as cheaper, generic pharmaceuticals. Gonzi would have been more credible had he not signed the agreement behind our backs, or had he declared he was backing from ACTA," Farrugia said.

There is little chance, however, that government will back out of an agreement that necessitates the support of all EU member states; and which without the EU's own significant support can prove to be of any leverage with other countries of origin for counterfeit goods.