ACTA: MEPs take stance to defend SME-Internet service providers against undue liabilityBrussels, 28 July 2010 - ICT SMEs are concerned about the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA), a plurilateral trade agreement currently under negotiation. Small internet service providers fear that if this document is adopted, it will jeopardize both the openness of the Internet and the legal certainty of ICT SMEs as service providers.
PIN-SME has sent a letter to all MEPs asking them to support the Written Declaration on the lack of a transparent process for the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) and potentially objectionable content. The written declaration includes the following points:
“4. Stresses that economic and innovation risks must be evaluated prior to introducing criminal sanctions where civil measures are already in place;
5. Takes the view that internet service providers 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”
Such declaration must be signed by at least half the MEPs to become the official position of the European Parliament, within three months of the submission of the declaration. However in this case, after three months the declaration was signed by over 300 members of the European Parliament. This allowed for an exceptional procedure extending the deadline for signing the declaration. The original deadline of the 8th of July has therefore been extended to the 9th of September.
On the 8th of July, 353 MEPs had signed the declaration; only 16 more signatures are needed for the declaration to become the official position of the European Parliament.
PIN-SME will continue raising awareness amongst the MEPs on this essential declaration so that it can reach the threshold of 368 signatures and become the official position of the Parliament.
The public draft of ACTA can be found at the following e-address:
http://trade.ec.europa.eu/doclib/docs/2010/april/tradoc_146029.pdf
The written declaration can be found at the following e-address:
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