ACTA Gets Killed

[Gahars]

I'd start out with some lame jokes, but I'm sure you just want me to shut up and get to the news already, so here it goes. (If you've lived under a rock for the past year or so and have never heard of ACTA, this will get you up to speed.)

ACTA is effectively dead, the European Commissioner for the Digital Agenda admitted Friday. An official spokesman said the “political reality” was the fight was over.

Neelie Kroes, speaking at a conference in Berlin, told delegates: “We have recently seen how many thousands of people are willing to protest against rules which they see as constraining the openness and innovation of the Internet.

“This is a strong new political voice. And as a force for openness, I welcome it, even if I do not always agree with everything it says on every subject.

“We are now likely to be in a world without SOPA and without ACTA.”

Her spokesman agreed that while Ms. Kroes never said ACTA was dead, the “political reality” is that it is.

Source: Tech Europe

Just to reiterate: While the treaty has not been struck down in any official manner yet (and so technically could still live on), the political support for it has pretty much dissipated. The chances of it being enacted are pretty nonexistent as of right now. ACTA is done for.

So yeah, let the internet celebrations begin.

 

[Hop2089]

Wasn't expecting this to happen but good news, now we need Obama to veto CISPA and it's over.

 

[finkmac]

Wasn't expecting this to happen but good news, now we need Obama to veto CISPA and it's over.

What's over? Nothing. It's not going to be over.

 

[Gahars]

Wasn't expecting this to happen but good news, now we need Obama to veto CISPA and it's over.

Or, you know, for it to fail in the Senate or in either house if a conference committee is required.

 

[Hop2089]

Wasn't expecting this to happen but good news, now we need Obama to veto CISPA and it's over.

What's over? Nothing. It's not going to be over.

Well not completely over but it will be gone for a few years.

 

[cris92x]

Wasn't expecting this to happen but good news, now we need Obama to veto CISPA and it's over.

What's over? Nothing. It's not going to be over.

Well not completely over but it will be gone for a few years.

It will never be over, the government is going to invade our privacy always its the necessary evil for "security". The question is when and how much privacy will we compromise. All other forms of communication are watched what makes the internet an exception?

 

[Luigi2012SM64DS]

HORRAY (see what i did there?)

 

[Wizerzak]

That is all.

 

[Guild McCommunist]

It will never be over, the government is going to invade our privacy always its the necessary evil for "security". The question is when and how much privacy will we compromise. All other forms of communication are watched what makes the internet an exception?

Christ, we get good news about how the government and nations around the world are defeating bills to protect our rights and we just get "NO THE GOVERMENT IS TRYING TO STEAL OUR PERSONAL INFORMATION AND INVADE OUR PRIVACY."

Can people ever stop crying about how government is a big meanie and realize how absolutely essential they are to our daily lives?

 

[The Catboy]

Can people ever stop crying about how government is a big meanie and realize how absolutely essential they are to our daily lives?

Except for when they try to make bills like these. Leadership is one thing, but making bills to control the flow and or freedom of information is way too far. Yes there needs to be some control on the internet, but not to the point where they destroy it or just make everyone who lip syncs to their favorite song on youtube a terrorist.

 

[Guild McCommunist]

Can people ever stop crying about how government is a big meanie and realize how absolutely essential they are to our daily lives?

Except for when they try to make bills like these. Leadership is one thing, but making bills to control the flow and or freedom of information is way too far. Yes there needs to be some control on the internet, but not to the point where they destroy it or just make everyone who lip syncs to their favorite song on youtube a terrorist.

I thought the whole point that the bill was defeated completely throws that argument out the window.

It's like with the SOPA/PIPA thing. Everyone claimed government was "evil" for introducing such a thing. Even though it's not like everyone in government formed this bill, it was purposed by some people and defeated by everyone else.

Representative government is full of plenty of people to represent the entirety of the represented. Even if that means people who don't think like you or I do. To claim the government as a whole is bad because one facet of it represents one group of people in the governed area then that's just rather silly.

 

[Hyro-Sama]

WOW I'm shocked. I really thought ACTA would survive.

 

[Skelletonike]

To be honest, the government doesn't really care about this things that much, the ones that actually care and want them to be in effect are those greedy media companies that would profit the most from this.
A government is elected by the people, no matter what you think or say, if someone is your president, prime-minister, etc, then it's because the majority of the country voted in them, people can't just go and blame them all the time, they have their faults but they're human beings like us, if you didn't want them in power, then you shouldn't have voted for them (which is something people often seem to do, they vote in someone, things don't go the way they like and they just badmouth that politician). Anyway, all governments need to be liked, they wouldn't profit anything from being hated by the general masses, sure, they could earn some extra cash but they would lose the rest of the faith that people put in them, and that means a lot.

Well, I'm glad it seems to have failed.

 

[AlanJohn]

Checkmate, government.

Freedom: 1
Companies: 0

 

[loco365]

Obligatory YouTube video is obligatory.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3GwjfUFyY6M

 

[Sheimi]

Best thing I have heard all day.

 

[DiscostewSM]

Let's be honest here. While dead in a sense, who here really thinks the government(s) won't pull their own stunts that would be associated with this?

 

[Prof. 9]

I'll believe it when it's struck down.

 

[shakirmoledina]

now to get megaupload back. three cheers to the protests around the internet world!!

 

[holoflame]

Can we get a moment of silen-

Fuck it, whoohoo!