Internet Freedom Group Sounds Warning on ACTA
The Estonian Internet Community group has spoken out against the passage of the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) in European Parliament, saying that the act is not in line with constitutional law and will hamper innovation and start-ups.
In its letter to Estonian MEPs, the group cited the opinion of the Foundation for a Free Information Infrastructure and a previous letter to the EP authored by Karmen Turk of the UN Internet Governance Forum.
We decided to stress precisely the negative impact that passage of ACTA will have on Estonian enterprise and local innovation," said Elver Loho, chairman of the board of the Community. "If any sort of human rights restrictions can be justified by the argument of fighting crime, I hope that Estonian MEPs will not go so far as to jeopardize Estonian and European economic success and innovation capability."
He called it one of the weightier decisions affecting Estonia, and said he felt it had not received enough coverage.
"Passage of ACTA in the EU would seriously jeopardize the inception of success stories similar to Skype," the letter reads.
Opposition to ACTA largely revolves around the issues of the vulnerability of start-ups and other companies that lack deep pockets to civil claims. The legislation also provides for extensive criminal penalties for releasing and sharing documents, say opponents.
The group, originally established as an opponent of the domain reform of 2010, styles itself as Estonia's answer to the Electronic Freedom Foundation.
Kristopher Rikken