Petition to stop ACTA and protect internet freedom.

[Sir Jeans]

The Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) is the latest threat to internet freedom, in the same vein as PIPA and SOPA that have recently attracted massive opposition. Please take a moment to learn a little more about it, and - if its in line with your values - sign this petition opposing ACTA. If you could share it with others, e.g. on facebook, that would be even better.

http://www.avaaz.org/en/eu_save_the_internet/?cl=1533699101&v=12249

Note that I am NOT affiliated with avaaz or any other organization in any way. I'm only posting this because I care deeply about internet freedom. We have seen how important it is as a tool for the "99%" to organize and mobilize against oppression (e.g. in Syria). Internet freedom is one of the most important things we have and it must be protected!

[Bert&Ernie]

thanks for letting us know I will defiantly sign this

[qualia]

hmmm, even though i support the petition and will sign it and pass it on, i really doubt the efficacy of petitions alone to sway the minds of bureaucrats. even, in this country at least, official letters from government sponsored bodies against particular legislation has not been enough to stop repressive legislation being passed. but still, they do raise awareness i guess.

Edited January 27, 2012 by qualia

[Sir Jeans]

Yeah I understand your skepticism, qualia. And I agree that in many cases petitions probably achieve little. However, there are exceptions and they can precipitate changes. For example, the petition against live exports - that led to immediate cessation of live exportation. Whatever anyone thinks about the more long-term consequences of that issue is another story - the point is that the petition had an impact.

Another thing is that even if petitions often have little impact, the cost-benefits ration is extremely favorable. It costs only a minute or so to sign a petition. So even if only 10% of petitions make an impact, you are still only spending 10 minutes of your time to make a difference. Beats doing nothing!

[Distracted]

I think the main problem with petitions is that people view their signing of the petition as them doing their bit, instead of doing something actually useful.

Pro arguement: Signing a petition is better than doing nothing

Con arguement: If they didn't sign the petition they might've done something

Humans have an amazing capacity to rid mass amounts of guilt by showing tiny amounts of compassion.

A made up ratio by me rates it at... 10 tonnes of guilt can be outweighed by 10kg of compassion.

Edited January 27, 2012 by Distracted

[Sir Jeans]

That's an excellent point, Distracted. That reminds of the "cause-marketing paradox" - people donate less to a cause after they buy a product that supports the cause. Even if by buying the product, only a couple of cents are donated to the cause.

The strength of the con argument you described above depends on the likelihood that someone would have done something if they hadn't signed the petition. I'd be inclined to think that VERY few people would do anything at all in most cases that don't directly concern them personally.

[Distracted]

yeah we have it too good in Australia

i'll be signing the petition but probably won't do much else except some viral propaganda against it.

[Sir Jeans]

[...] some viral propaganda against it.

 

What will this entail, if I may ask?

[Distracted]

ranting to my friends about it, family, coworkers and customers like most causes i get passionate about.

nothing really out of my way, i don't mean like letterbox drops or door to door speeches or anything

to be honest though i think i'll have to read more into to it first

Edited January 27, 2012 by Distracted

[Distracted]

A signing ceremony was held on 1 October 2011 in Tokyo, with the United States, Australia, Canada, Japan, Morocco, New Zealand, Singapore, and South Korea signing the treaty. The European Union, Mexico, and Switzerland attended but did not sign, professing support and saying they will do so in the future.^[25][26] Article 39 of ACTA states countries can sign the treaty until 31 March 2013. European Parliament reportedly has the final decision over whether the treaty is dismissed or enacted.^[27] On 26 January, 2012, the European Union and 22 Member States signed the treaty (without Cyprus, Estonia, Germany, Netherlands and Slovakia, which are expected to sign it on the completion of respective domestic procedures).^[28]

After the signing, protesters rallied in the Polish cities of Poznan and Lublin to express their anger over the treaty. Lawmakers for the left-wing Palikot's Movement wore masks in parliament to show their dissatisfaction, while the largest opposition party — the right-wing Law and Justice party — called for a referendum on the matter.

http://sg.news.yahoo...-102302237.html

Kader Arif, the "rapporteur" for ACTA, has quit that role in disgust over the process behind getting the EU to sign onto ACTA. A rapporteur is a person "appointed by a deliberative body to investigate an issue." However, it appears his investigation of ACTA didn't make him very pleased:

I want to denounce in the strongest possible manner the entire process that led to the signature of this agreement: no inclusion of civil society organisations, a lack of transparency from the start of the negotiations, repeated postponing of the signature of the text without an explanation being ever given, exclusion of the EU Parliament's demands that were expressed on several occasions in our assembly.

As rapporteur of this text, I have faced never-before-seen manoeuvres from the right wing of this Parliament to impose a rushed calendar before public opinion could be alerted, thus depriving the Parliament of its right to expression and of the tools at its disposal to convey citizens' legitimate demands.”

Everyone knows the ACTA agreement is problematic, whether it is its impact on civil liberties, the way it makes Internet access providers liable, its consequences on generic drugs manufacturing, or how little protection it gives to our geographical indications.

This agreement might have major consequences on citizens' lives, and still, everything is being done to prevent the European Parliament from having its say in this matter. That is why today, as I release this report for which I was in charge, I want to send a strong signal and alert the public opinion about this unacceptable situation. I will not take part in this masquerade.

http://www.techdirt....hind-acta.shtml

[qualia]

For example, the petition against live exports - that led to immediate cessation of live exportation. Whatever anyone thinks about the more long-term consequences of that issue is another story - the point is that the petition had an impact.

i disagree. i think the four corners special plus the massive public backlash put forward by many interest groups, and the huge media campaign had more of an effect than any petition. sure it may have been another tool, but were there a petition alone without the huge media coverage and pressure on the government caused by that there would have been no action.

[qualia]

consider the ban on plants proposed by the government. does anyone honestly think that if there were a petition, gathered from online/anonymous names no less, only presented to the government that they would have acted differently? i don't. i think the negative media coverage from all sides against the legislation ultimately proved its dowfall.

[Sir Jeans]

Governments care about two thing: getting elected, and then getting reelected. That's about it. So, if a petition attracts enough signatures, it should motivate the government to some extent to take notice.

And Qualia, of course the massive campaign and media attention played a role. But the petition was an important part of it. As far as I understand, there was a massive number of signatures - well over 200,000 signatures - which in itself attracted media attention. Besides, these online petitions are almost always part of a wider campaign, and the more people who sign, the more likely that it - and the campaign in general - will be media attention.

Like I said, petitions probably often don't lead to much of a result. But they can help - surely that's worth something.

[JackCon]

When will this ever stop? They'll just rename it as soon as it's shot down.

I really wonder what's in it for these lawmakers.

[Distracted]

lots of

Edited February 4, 2012 by Distracted