On Feb. 22nd, 2012, Dave Lee reported for BBC on ACTA, the controversial international trade agreement that aims to protect intellectual property rights. ACTA is, in a sense, an international version of SOPA/PIPA. Like SOPA/PIPA, ACTA has encountered fierce resistance; protests, cyberattacks, and remorseful withdrawls have followed any representative who dared sign ACTA. Many European nations have backed out (including Germany and Poland).
Now the European Commission has asked the European Court of Justice (the EU's highest court) to decide whether ACTA is "fully compatible with freedom of expression and freedom of the internet."
Why do I keep emphasizing ACTA? President Obama signed the agreement over a year ago. Granted, effective enforcement of the agreement requires participation by all member countries (so, as the BBC notes, the agreement is toothless without the EU). Thus, maybe ACTA isn't a big deal. However, in light of the previous protests around SOPA/PIPA, ongoing protests in Europe, and the possibility of outright EU condemnation, why is the US relatively quiet?
You can find the BBC source article here.
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