The European Union has been accused of trying to push through a controversial deal, which would force internet service providers to hand over the personal details of anyone suspected of infringing copyright online, by the back door. [...]

CETA, a free-trade deal being thrashed out between the EU and Canada, appears to contain precisely the same copyright crackdown provisions as ACTA, the international treaty rejected by the European Parliament last week. [...]

The leak apparently shows a CETA draft dating back to February, and Canadian law professor Michael Geist published a comprehensive-looking table on Monday, showing just how similar the text is to that of ACTA. [...]

In October 2007, several leading economies, including the U.S., European Union, and Canada, announced plans to negotiate the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA). [...]

With public pressure mounting, the European Parliament voted overwhelmingly last week to reject ACTA, striking a major blow to the hopes of supporters who envisioned a landmark agreement that would set a new standard for intellectual property rights enforcement. [...]

Earlier this week the European Parliament (EP) voted overwhelmingly to reject the controversial Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) with 478 MEPs voting against the treaty, to just 39 in favour. This vote led to huge acclaim from internet advocacy groups, with the likes of the Open Right's Group (ORG), the Pirate Party and La Quadrature du Net all welcoming the vote from those in the parliament. [...]

ACTA’s failure in the European Parliament is a huge victory for democracy and online freedom, Jeremie Zimmermann told RT. [...] Zimmermann insists that copyrights should be adapted to society, but “not the other way around,” and this should be done through democratic processes. [...]

The European Parliament has voted to reject the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (Acta).
The proposed agreement sought to curb piracy, but internet campaigners said it posed a threat to online freedoms. The rejection vote followed a failed attempt to postpone the decision because of ongoing investigations into Acta by the European Court of Justice. [...]

As the decision was made, some of those in attendance held banners reading: "Hello democracy, goodbye Acta". [...]

European legislators on Wednesday rejected an international treaty to crack down on digital piracy, a vote that Internet freedom groups hailed as a victory for democracy but that media companies lamented as a setback for the creative industries. [...]

After the vote, some members of the Parliament stood up in the chamber, displaying placards reading “Hello democracy, goodbye ACTA.” [...]

Interview of Jérémie Zimmermann on Russia Today's TV channel.

The European Parliament (EP) will decide the fate of the ACTA treaty on Wednesday.

Five EU parliamentary committees, including the International Trade (INTA) committee of the EP, have already recommended that the deeply unpopular and controversial treaty should be rejected. [...]

"A definitive rejection of ACTA would represent a tremendous victory for citizens around the globe, and for European democracy and citizenship," said French digital advocacy group La Quadrature du Net.

The fate of the controversial ACTA anti-counterfeiting agreement will finally be decided during the July plenary when the European Parliament puts it to a vote. Without the Parliament's approval, it will not be able to enter into force in the EU. [...]

As the Parliament received several petitions asking MEPs to reject ACTA, including one signed by about 3 million people, the petitions committee organised a meeting to give the organisers a chance to air their views.

What is your state of mind after ACTA's rejection in committees?

This case is not over at all. There is going to be this plenary vote, for which, don't worry, I don't hold much hope. [...] Now, if this is a result of the disinformation campaign we have been enduring for the past months [...]

We're supposeed to represent citizens, but since they are busy with other things, we are supposed to think for them! [...]

MEPs on a key European parliamentary committee have voted to reject the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (Acta) by 19 votes to 12. [...]

Responding to the vote Peter Bradwell, a campaigner with the Open Rights Group, said: "MEPs have listened to the many, many thousands of people across Europe who have consistently demanded that this flawed treaty is kicked out.

The International Trade Committee (INTA) of the European Parliament (EP) is set to adopt its opinion report on ACTA, ahead of the EP’s July 3 vote. RT discussed the controversial act with digital rights expert Jeremie Zimmermann. [...]

Jeremie Zimmermann, co-founder and spokesperson of the citizen advocacy group La Quadrature du Net told RT that INTA was also likely to recommend that the vote be delayed.

RT:What are the chances that INTA will support ACTA?