PROTESTERS GATHERED in several European cities today to demonstrate against proposed EU copyright protection legislation which critics claim could impair freedom of expression online.
The European Commission says that the legislation will not create new intellectual property rights, but will reinforce existing ones.
People in Sofia, Paris, Berlin, London, Vilnius and other European cities turned out to protest against ACTA – the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement. Anti-ACTA protesters met in Dublin last weekend to express their concerns over the legislation.
Yesterday the BBC reported that German government officials confirmed that the cabinet has delayed its signature of the controversial bill to allow time for further engagement on the issues concerned. Latvia yesterday also delayed its ratification of the legislation.
ACTA has not been ratified by the European Parliament; it is due to come before the parliament in June.
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