Total transparency on ACTA and TAFTA documents

By EDRi · March 13, 2013

This article is also available in:
Deutsch: [ACTA und TAFTA: Absolute Transparenz ist gefragt | https://www.unwatched.org/EDRigram_11.5_ACTA_und_TAFTA_Absolute_Transparenz_ist_gefragt?pk_campaign=edri&pk_kwd=20130319]

In a letter sent to the president of the European Parliament, Linus
Nordberg, a Swedish advocate, developer for Tor and representative of
the EDRi-member Association for Digital Liberties from Sweden
(Föreningen för digitala fri- och rättigheter – DFRI) asks for
transparency and clarity regarding ACTA treaties and an immediate and
full release to the public of the related documents.

Nordberg considers that The European Parliament (EP) has given ambiguous
messages regarding ACTA, playing an “active role in transparency issues
relating to ACTA both by demanding disclosure and by disclosing
documents, but also, in some instances, by actively withholding public
information.”

DFRI wants the EP to keep showing high transparency standards even after
the closure of ACTA files and asks for a total and public disclosure of
the all documents related to the agreement.

The letter makes reference to the observations sent by the EP to the
European Court of Justice and to the question asked by the Court of
Justice also sent to the EP, as well as to other documents “we don’t
know of.”

The request follows actions announced by US President Obama towards the
Trans-Atlantic Free Trade Agreement (TAFTA), a joint American and
European legislative initiative that might be another version of ACTA
which was rejected by the EP in July 2012 with a crashing majority,
following large public protests. The talks over TAFTA will start this year.

“(ACTA) was a wake up call for many of us in the European Union member
states, that the European Parliament lacked the will or the power,
whichever would be the worst I don’t know, to let the people ultimately
affected by the upcoming legislation learn what was at stake,” stated
Nordberg for the The Inquirer.

Digital liberties group wants to shine a light on all ACTA and TAFTA
discussions (1.03.2013)
http://www.theinquirer.net/inquirer/news/2251585/digital-liberties-group-wants-to-shine-a-light-on-all-acta-and-tafta-discussions

DFRI (Linus Nordberg)’s letter (26.02.2013)
http://permalink.gmane.org/gmane.org.user-groups.dfri/406

EDRi-gram: Thank you SOPA, thank you ACTA (4.07.2012)
http://www.edri.org/edrigram/number10.13/good-bye-acta