ACTA Rejected in European Parliament

The European Parliament has rejected ACTA in a 478 to 39 vote, making the controversial trade agreement effectively dead and gone — at least in its current state.

The Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement, which has been called “more dangerous than SOPA,” at one point had support from many governments around the world, including the U.S., the UK and Japan.

A strong public movement against ACTA raised the awareness of its dangers, convincing some governments, such as Poland, not to ratify the agreement.

To pass in the 22 EU member states where it was signed, ACTA needed to be formally ratified by the European Parliament. Today’s strong vote against ACTA means the agreement would have to be rewritten and significantly changed in order to be resubmitted for ratification.

The fact that ACTA did not pass in the European Parliament doesn’t mean other, similar agreements will not follow.

“Today’s rejection does not change the fact that the European Commission has committed itself to seeking answers to the questions raised by the European public. The European Commission will continue to seek the legal opinion of the European Court of Justice on whether this agreement harms any of the fundamental rights of European citizens – including freedom of speech,” said EU Trade Commissioner Karel De Gucht.

Source : mashable.com