USTR's Funny Definition Of Transparency: Next ACTA Negotiations Still Shrouded In Secrecy

from the transparent-as-mud dept

The USTR keeps claiming that it's being as transparent as possible when it comes to ACTA negotiations, but there's simply no evidence to support that at all. It worked hard to keep ACTA secret for as long as possible, and used transparency as a bargaining chip at the last ACTA negotiations (which is why no draft was released -- though it was leaked). For a while now, there have been reports that there was to be a meeting in Washington DC next week between US and EU ACTA negotiators to try to hash out their differences -- which are apparently a key hurdle at this point.

However, the whole thing has been shrouded in secrecy. The USTR hasn't even said where the meetings will be held, who's attending or what the agenda is -- things that most other countries hosting these negotiations have released at least a week in advance. The latest report is that, contrary to earlier claims, this meeting will include more than just EU and US negotiators, so it's sounding more like a full negotiation. And yet... no one's really sure, because the supposedly "transparent" USTR isn't saying a word. Of course, as with all things ACTA, the more the USTR stays quiet, the more things leak: so a proposed agenda has leaked, and it certainly looks like a pretty thorough negotiation, rather than just the proposed "hash out EU/US differences" sort of thing. But, it's worth noting that the very last item on the list of things to be discussed (well, before "press release") is "transparency." I guess that's the USTR's version of transparency: don't tell anyone anything, but talk about transparency at the meeting.
Hide this

Thank you for reading this Techdirt post. With so many things competing for everyone’s attention these days, we really appreciate you giving us your time. We work hard every day to put quality content out there for our community.

Techdirt is one of the few remaining truly independent media outlets. We do not have a giant corporation behind us, and we rely heavily on our community to support us, in an age when advertisers are increasingly uninterested in sponsoring small, independent sites — especially a site like ours that is unwilling to pull punches in its reporting and analysis.

While other websites have resorted to paywalls, registration requirements, and increasingly annoying/intrusive advertising, we have always kept Techdirt open and available to anyone. But in order to continue doing so, we need your support. We offer a variety of ways for our readers to support us, from direct donations to special subscriptions and cool merchandise — and every little bit helps. Thank you.

–The Techdirt Team

Filed Under: acta, negotiations, transparency
Companies: ustr


Reader Comments

Subscribe: RSS

View by: Time | Thread


  • icon
    Spike (profile), 12 Aug 2010 @ 11:38am

    let me guess

    I bet all the MPAA, RIAA and other big content industry lobbyists will be invited to this one as well.

    link to this | view in chronology ]

    • icon
      :Lobo Santo (profile), 12 Aug 2010 @ 11:44am

      Re: let me guess

      Yeah, of course. They are the ones paying for this law/treaty--shouldn't they get a voice in its creation?

      link to this | view in chronology ]

  • icon
    Hephaestus (profile), 12 Aug 2010 @ 12:12pm

    "The USTR hasn't even said where the meetings will be held, who's attending or what the agenda is"

    We know they are ...
    Meeting in the plenary room ?? (where)
    having lunch at "726 Jackson Place" in DC and one day at the USTR.

    Definition - Plenary : entire; complete; absolute; as, a plenary license; plenary authority.

    link to this | view in chronology ]

  • icon
    The Mighty Buzzard (profile), 12 Aug 2010 @ 2:37pm

    But they are being transparent. You can see through their bullshit about being transparent with no effort at all.

    link to this | view in chronology ]

  • identicon
    BentFranklin, 12 Aug 2010 @ 3:15pm

    I have met this person and heard him speak for about 20 minutes parroting the rights holders' propaganda, and I can assure you he is 100% in their pockets. He totally ignored the dark side of IP.

    He went on about China pirating 90% of its Windows installations as a reason for us to be behind ACTA, yet admitted that China is not even at the table. When I asked what would be the consequences toward non-signatory nations he spent 5 minutes talking about anything except that question.

    Don't expect anything good from him.

    link to this | view in chronology ]

  • icon
    sprearson81 (profile), 10 Jun 2012 @ 8:49am

    I will expect nothing but good from him. Er . . .

    link to this | view in chronology ]


Follow Techdirt
Essential Reading
Techdirt Deals
Report this ad  |  Hide Techdirt ads
Techdirt Insider Discord

The latest chatter on the Techdirt Insider Discord channel...

Loading...
Recent Stories

This site, like most other sites on the web, uses cookies. For more information, see our privacy policy. Got it
Close

Email This

This feature is only available to registered users. Register or sign in to use it.