ACTA Deal May Threaten Internet Freedom, ISPs Warn

by Ulrika Lomas, LawAndTax-News.com, Brussels

04 December 2009

EuroISPA, a trade body which represents over 1,700 European Internet Service Providers (ISPs), has warned European trade negotiators not to sign any trade deal which threatens the openness of the Internet.

The Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) is being negotiated between the EU and a number of other countries such as the United States, Switzerland and Japan in order to tackle the trade of counterfeit goods and copyright infringement. Reported leaks from this process suggest that the measures being considered are severe and wide-ranging, and include the possibility of users being disconnected from the Internet.

EuroISPA is concerned that the attempt to implement such measures through a trade agreement, rather than a conventional legislative process, will not allow the various stakeholders, such as European citizens’ representatives, to enter the debate.

EuroISPA additionally fears that if some of the proposals under consideration in the ACTA talks are adopted, ISPs will have to implement “graduated response” measures, which could lead to users being disconnected from the Internet.

Malcolm Hutty, EuroISPA President, argued that “such heavy-handed measures would create a serious danger of undermining and restricting the open innovative space that lies at the very heart of the Internet’s success".

"This agreement would have a negative impact on Internet users without having an appreciable impact on fighting illicit use of copyrighted material," Hutty suggested.

EuroISPA is calling on European institutions to ensure that ACTA will be fully compliant with the letter and spirit of European Union law, in particular the 2000 Electronic Commerce Directive, which sets the legal framework for ISP liability and prevents member states from requiring ISPs to monitor their services.

"The E-Commerce directive has proven to be a flexible instrument in developing businesses online, to the benefit of consumers," EuroISPA stated.

"The last round of ACTA negotiations risks disrupting this balance by increasing burdens for legitimate commerce, creating a negative impact on innovation, distorting competition and, finally, undermining consumers’ fundamental rights to privacy and free flow of information," the body concluded by warning.

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