MEPs begin discussions on anti-piracy agreement

EU data protection chief raises security concerns over ACTA.

The European Parliament has begun ratification of ACTA, a controversial international agreement to combat counterfeiting that faces stiff opposition from MEPs. Debates in several committees began on Tuesday (24 April) amid intense lobbying from both sides. Liberals, Greens and parts of the centre-left Socialists and Democrats group are against the agreement, which suggests a close call when the plenary votes on it in June or July. 

David Martin, a British centre-left MEP who is drafting the Parliament’s response to the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA), is recommending that MEPs reject it. Martin was to present his views to the committee on international trade – which takes the lead on ACTA – yesterday evening (25 April), after European Voice went to press, but in his draft report, Martin says that while tougher rules to protect intellectual property rights are necessary, ACTA should be rejected because of its potential threat to privacy and data protection.

“The intended benefits of this international agreement are far outweighed by the potential threats to civil liberties,” Martin’s report says. “Given the vagueness of certain aspects of the text and the uncertainty over its interpretation, the European Parliament cannot guarantee adequate protection for citizens’ rights in the future under ACTA.”

But the committee for legal affairs is expected today to recommend that MEPs adopt ACTA, following the lead of Marielle Gallo, a centre-right French MEP who drafted the committee’s position.

The legal-affairs committee is the first of five committees to give its opinion. The committee on industry, research and energy is expected to adopt its opinion on 8 May.

The committees for development and for civil liberties will also give their opinions in May, followed by the international trade committee.

Copyright standards

ACTA is supposed to set standards for copyright enforcement, although many member states, taken aback by the intensity of online activism against ACTA, have stressed that it would not require new EU or national legislation.

In this week’s debates, many MEPs asked for improvements to the text of ACTA, which looks unlikely because it would require a re-negotiation between the agreement’s signatories (including the US, Japan, Canada, Australia and South Korea). MEPs also sought assurances from the European Commission that ACTA would not be used to clamp down on civil liberties.

On Tuesday, Peter Hustinx, the European data protection supervisor, raised data-protection and privacy concerns over ACTA in an opinion that he will present to MEPs on the civil-liberties committee today.

Hustinx found that ACTA does not contain sufficient limitations and safeguards against possible civil-liberties infringements.

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