SOPA and PIPA in the USA, and ACTA bills to be ratified in Europe

Last week, hundreds of major websites in the US (Wikipedia, Craigslist, WordPress or Reddit) protested against SOPA, the Stop Online Piracy Act bill and PIPA, its sister act named Protect Intellectual Property. Millions of internet users started online protests.

Later this week, several of the EU countries are to ratify a global intellectual property enforcement treaty: the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement, ACTA, which, according to the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF), deals primarily with counterfeiting physical goods, like medicine, but in a broader scope it will also deal with new tools targeting "internet distribution and information technology."

ACTA reception in Poland

On Jan 19, last Thursday, during the meeting between Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk and government officials, with NGOs and business representatives, Poland's signing of the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement, ACTA on January 26 was announced.

Though the agreement itself has been known to the Polish officials for two years, the government had failed to hold consultations with civil society prior to its late signing announcement. Due to that, anti-ACTA ire started to grow amongst the Polish Internet community.

Within hours on Sunday, January 22, the websites of the prime minister, parliament and other government offices were unreachable or sluggish, the hallmarks of a denial-of-service attack.

The entire Internet community is outraged. There are plans of protests in the streets of 10 major Polish cities. A number of sites in a gesture of solidarity have scheduled blackouts. This was all in reaction to the news that the Polish Minister of Foreign Affairs would sign the Agreement in Tokyo on January 26.

After the meeting with Prime Minister Donald Tusk on Monday, January 23, Mr Boni, the Minister of Administration and Digitalization, said: "The ACTA agreement in no way changes Polish laws or the rights of the internet users and internet usage."

Polish Internet communities, however, see the reality of participating in ACTA with their own eyes, and according to them the agreement would impose new criminal sanctions forcing Internet actors to monitor and censor online communications. It may include deep packet inspection of citizens' internet communications, raising considerable concerns for civil liberties, privacy rights and internet innovation.

Creating legal uncertainty for Internet companies, ACTA would become a major threat to freedom of expression online and another assault against the culture of sharing on the Internet.

That is why since Friday, January 20, the board members of the Polish Internet Society are being asked to cover the issue in major TV and radio stations, also telephone and e-mail consultancy of ISOC Poland representatives had been asked for. Media frenzy on ACTA trying to find out how the agreement is understood by all the parties involved – Polish Internauts, telecommunication business sector, right holders, and government. It is very little known about the agreement itself, which is one of the main reasons that public opinion, Internauts, and media showing their immediate concern.

One of the reasons ACTA is suspiciously received by Polish civil society is the way the agreement was negotiated. It is true that the first round of so called „consultations” was started by the Minister of Culture in May of 2010. Nevertheless, ISOC Poland has learned about this fact in an unofficial way, from its partner NGO organizations.

Polish Government about ACTA

On Tuesday, January 24, a press conference with Polish Prime Minister was held. Tusk stated that his plenipotentiary to sign ACTA in Tokyo was already granted the permission to do so. He strongly admitted that a series of negotiations were held with over a dozen of NGOs and that it was held openly. And in no way it will limit the liberty of Polish Internet users. „The responsible ministers were obliged to deliver a version of the agreement, and the respectful changes, which will help during the upcoming two weeks in public consultations”, Tusk said. It is obvious for the Polish government that ACTA should be signed, as it ennobles Poland to the upper level of privacy rights protection, to meet the European standards on this matter. „It is its ratification, not signing the agreement in Tokyo, that would be the final act of bringing the agreement to its executive force.”