Commission Warned on Controversial ACTA Intervention
February 24th, 2010 by adminA secret negotiation that has been taking place in a bid to prevent breaches of copyright law by individuals has directly threatened the integrity of a person’s right to privacy and data protection.
Peter Hustinx, the European Data Protection Supervisor, oversees all data protection practices of EU bodies and advises those EU bodies on privacy policy. Hustinx recently condemned the fact that such little information about these global negotiations had been publicised.
The Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) is a proposed agreement on copyright protection measures by the European Commission, as well as Canada, Japan, the US and others.
The controversy has been caused by a concentrated silence surrounding the ACTA since these proposals first became public knowledge two years ago. The ACTA has been criticised by analysts who have alleged that the draft legislation has only been accessible by governments of negotiating countries as opposed to being accessible by the public.
Hustinx was not consulted by the European Commission at any point about the exact content of the ACTA. It is believed that the ACTA will not be compatible with current EU data protection legislation, which in turn raises significant issues regarding an individual’s right to privacy.
Although intellectual property is integral to modern society and thus must be protected, it should not be placed of higher importance over an individual’s right to privacy and data protection.
