February 12, 2012 in Headline, Occupy, Politics, World News
Protestors holding Guy Fawkes masks shout slogans during a demonstration against the ACTA in central Sofia
Protestors holding Guy Fawkes masks shout slogans during a demonstration against the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) in central Sofia February 11, 2012. Thousands of Bulgarians marched in capital Sofia on Saturday to protest against the unpopular ACTA aimed to cut costly copyright and trademark theft over fears of online censorship. REUTERS/Stoyan Nenov (BULGARIA - Tags: CRIME LAW POLITICS CIVIL UNREST)
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Demonstrators protest against the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) on February 11, 2012 in Berlin. ACTA's aim is to reinforce international standards for intellectual property protection. AFP PHOTO / SOEREN STACHE GERMANY OUT
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Protesters take part in a demonstration against controversial Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) as part of an international day of action against the increasingly-contested accord, in front of the Government Palace in Vilnius on February 11, 2012. ACTA's aim is to beef up international standards for intellectual property protection, for example by doing more to fight counterfeit medicine and other goods. But it is ACTA's potential role in cyberspace that has caused outcry online and on the streets. AFP PHOTO / PETRAS MALUKAS
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Protesters take part in a demonstration against controversial Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) as part of an international day of action against the increasingly-contested accord, at the Freedom Square in central Tallinn on February 11, 2012. Thousands of people demontrated despite freezing temperature, many of them were wearing tinfoil hats, after Estonian Prime Minister Andrus Ansip came under fire on February 9 after suggesting that critics of the controversial Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement must be on drugs, adding that "It might be helpful to put tinfoil in your hat," referring to the beleif of some UFO-watchers that it wards off alien mind-control. ACTA's aim is to beef up international standards for intellectual property protection, for example by doing more to fight counterfeit medicine and other goods. But it is ACTA's potential role in cyberspace that has caused outcry online and on the streets. AFP PHOTO / RAIGO PAJULA ***ESTONIA OUT***
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The world has witnessed an unprecedented day of protests against ACTA. Hundreds of thousands of people have gathered in dozens of cities around the globe to protect what is left of the freedom of expression on the internet.
Protesters from over 200 European cities consolidated their efforts to hold rallies across Europe. The controversial ACTA treaty was signed by the majority of European countries and now there is a battle to dissuade parliaments from ratifying the agreement.
Massive strikes took place in Germany with organizers saying that a total of some 100,000 people have gathered in many cities across the country, including Berlin, Hanover, Hamburg, and Cologne. Just the previous day Germany put on hold its joining the ACTA treaty after its Justice Ministry decided to wait until the issue is discussed in the European Read the rest of this entry →
Tags: ACTA, EU, Europe, Freedom of Speech, Human rights, Information Technology, internet, piracy, Politics, protest, Social Networks
