Watch Out: Widespread Protests Against ACTA Spreading Across Europe

from the wow dept

Fri, Feb 3rd 2012 11:11am — Mike Masnick

As we've noted multiple times, it appears the entertainment industry still does not recognize what kind of beast it awoke with its efforts to shove through SOPA and PIPA. While it still believes it was the "tech community" that caused those bills to be shelved, it's been ignoring that a very large segment of internet users have been activated on these issues... and they're angry and willing to be proactive. We've pointed out that lots of attention has turned towards ACTA -- and while it's late in the process, don't underestimate the power of an awful lot of pissed off people who recognize that their internet is being messed with in a way that may harm their ability to communicate.

A bunch of folks have been setting up February 11th as a global day of protest against ACTA, and if the entertainment industry thought that the anger would simmer down after the SOPA/PIPA fight, they may have miscalculated again. Just take a look at the live map showing the planned February 11th protests across Europe:
View ACTA Protests Worldwide - Brought to you by stoppacta-protest.info in a larger map In case you can't see/interact with that, here's a screenshot version:

These are live, in-person protests that people are planning across Europe, and if you start clicking through, you see fairly amazing numbers of people committing to come out and protest -- even in places where you wouldn't expect huge numbers of people protesting. Take, for example, Sofia, Bulgaria where over 33,000 (!!!!) people have said they plan to show up with nearly another 10,000 listed as "maybe." Over in Valletta, Malta there are nearly 3,000 people saying they'll be there. These are not exactly protest hotbeds. As you go through the list, you realize just how widespread the opposition on ACTA is becoming -- and you wonder if the entertainment industry has any idea what it unleashed with it's terrible miscalculation with SOPA/PIPA.

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Filed Under: acta, europe, pipa, protests, sopa

68 Comments

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Anonymous Coward, 3 Feb 2012 @ 11:14am

Knock yourselves out. Just remember to calculate the precentage protesting against the percentage not protecting to judge how much it really matters to most people.
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Beta (profile), 3 Feb 2012 @ 11:17am

RAH, RAH, RAH!
Is there anything a U.S. citizen can do to offer support and show solidarity, apart from speaking out against ACTA (which I'm already doing), and getting on a plane to join the crowd in whatever part of Europe I'd most like to visit (which might be inappropriate, considering that it's supposed to express European opposition)?
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Anonymous Coward, 3 Feb 2012 @ 11:19am

Re:
Like how nobody gave a shit about SOPA/PIPA and how those bills passed with flying colors?
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Loki, 3 Feb 2012 @ 11:26am

don't underestimate the power of an awful lot of pissed off people who recognize that their internet is being messed with in a way that may harm their ability to communicate.

Not just communicate, but as I said in the last post, their ability to once again control the direction of culture without having it imposed upon them by small collective of individuals/corporations.
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Rikuo (profile), 3 Feb 2012 @ 11:31am

Too bad I'm working tomorrow, otherwise I would've gone down to the Ireland protest.
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Machin Shin (profile), 3 Feb 2012 @ 11:34am

Re:
So are you seriously trying to suggest that anyone who does not show up to a protest counts as someone who doesn't care? You can try and play with the numbers like that if you want. Thing to remember is that if 3,000 will get out and protest in the streets there are going to be a lot more people who will protest in "smaller" ways. Like I don't know, voting against anyone who supports ACTA.
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Loki, 3 Feb 2012 @ 11:39am

The lack of protest by even more people does not by itself mean that it does not matter, or that they are in agreement.

To quote a line from the Declaration of Independence:

and accordingly all experience hath shewn, that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed.
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Anonymous Coward, 3 Feb 2012 @ 11:42am

In case anyone didn't notice, people are really pissed off everywhere over a lot of very important issues today. 2011 was only the beginning of the manifestation of the global revolution that is occurring. In my opinion, we are witnessing a paradigm shift away from industrial revolution based world views.
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Spaceboy (profile), 3 Feb 2012 @ 11:45am

Re:
And how many people are actually for ACTA? Where are the demonstrations with thousands and thousands of PRO-ACTA people. Oh that's right. There aren't any. As small as the percentage of actual protesters is, the actual number of supports is much smaller.

It is no longer acceptable for politicians to go against their constituents. We have woken up. Go ahead and keep throwing your lobby money at our politicians though.
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Mason Wheeler, 3 Feb 2012 @ 11:50am

The tech community?
Hollywood thinks it's up against the tech community. And they're absolutely right. What they fail to understand is that the Internet has turned the entire world into the tech community!
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Anonymous Coward, 3 Feb 2012 @ 11:55am

Re: RAH, RAH, RAH!
There is a petition on Avaaz that allows the global internet community to sign -> https://secure.avaaz.org/en/eu_save_the_internet_spread/
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fogbugzd (profile), 3 Feb 2012 @ 11:58am

Re: Re:
>>So are you seriously trying to suggest that anyone who does not show up to a protest counts as someone who doesn't care?

Actually, by industry standard math and accounting standards, anyone who does not show up is counted as a strong supporter. People who just show up are counted as neutral, and only the leaders count as actual supporters. They are probably all Google employees, anyway.
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Anonymous Coward, 3 Feb 2012 @ 11:59am

Re: RAH, RAH, RAH!
You can sign the We The People Petition
https://wwws.whitehouse.gov/petitions#!/petitions/all/0/2/0/

You can write the President directly http://www.whitehouse.gov/contact
to voice your opinion on ACTA. While supporting Sen. Wyden (President bypassed Congress and signed ACTA)
http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20120126/01545117544/as-ustr-insists-acta-doesnt-need-congre ssional-approval-wyden-asks-state-dept-second-opinion.shtml
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Jay (profile), 3 Feb 2012 @ 12:00pm

Just one observation
That's a helluva lot of lolcats...
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gorehound (profile), 3 Feb 2012 @ 12:01pm

Re: RAH, RAH, RAH!
Here are some things we can do in the USA

1.I started a Boycott Big Content group and another one called Boycott Big Content Organization on FB.I find these News Articles and post them all so people who I know or who join in will be educated

2.Stop going to the Theater BOYCOTT THEM

3.Stop buying any new products from Big Content

4.Censor them from your wallet completely and Educate your Friends and Family on this

5.Go To any local Protests and get involved in them if possible

6.Sign any petitions and make calls to your REPS

7.Be glad that there are groups who like Anonymous will hack into Governments and Corporations to shut them down/release the Dirty Laundry.Spread the word about these groups in a positive way.They do bring out some real dirt and we do want to know about that dirt.

There are 7 things to do.Add on if you know other suggestions.
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Kevin H (profile), 3 Feb 2012 @ 12:03pm

Government leaders listen up
When forcing a law on your people uou need to make sure that you have a good majority of them in agreement with you, or that can be subdued with double talk and politicking. Otherwise (and more importantly) you need to remember that the public outnumbers you.
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Pwdrskir (profile), 3 Feb 2012 @ 12:08pm

Re: The tech community?
That's the part they can't grasp, WE THE PEOPLE are the Internet, tech companies, pop culture, creativity, story tellers & music players. WE are what matters, they are just leaches who need to be removed.
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anonymous disenfranchised Dutch coward, 3 Feb 2012 @ 12:08pm

yeah right
claiming to turn up is not the same as turning up. hope it is true tough for once.
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Anonymous Coward, 3 Feb 2012 @ 12:08pm

Someone start a protest here in the U.S.!! If it's in my area I may attend.
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Pwdrskir (profile), 3 Feb 2012 @ 12:11pm

Re: yeah right
There will be Millions on-line at the same time watching videos, communicating, sharing, creating and Planning UR DOWNFALL JackHole!
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Anonymous Coward, 3 Feb 2012 @ 12:11pm

when people and interested bodies are purposefully locked out of all meetings over Bills/Laws that will affect the people, what do these politicians expect? especially when a particular industry, which has already proven to be detrimental to the people by it's attitude, is gonna be the sole beneficiary of those new Bills/Laws. waiting now to see the backlash from the non-transparent talks over TPP and how the same industry will again be the sole beneficiary!
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Anonymous Coward, 3 Feb 2012 @ 12:22pm

Re: Just one observation
And ceiling cat watches over them all
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Kenneth Michaels, 3 Feb 2012 @ 12:26pm

Re: Re: Re:
I'm pretty sure Google is behind these protests. If Google and the MPAA/RIAA would just meet at the White House, I'm sure they could come to a reasonable compromise. Instead, Google insists on continuing to abuse its users.
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Squig (profile), 3 Feb 2012 @ 12:27pm

Hi (from the creator of the map, no less ;-) )

There is something those Americans that live in a big American city can do: Organize a protest in front of European consulates. There are plenty of them all around the States. It would be awesome to have some rallies (small or big) on February 11th in the US, too, and since the US gov is unlikely to change its position on ACTA, you can try to make the members of European parliaments stop and think (just as Europeans supported the Stop SOPA and PIPA protests).
As for Canadians, Australians, New Zealanders: You can try to get a national debate on the whole thing going as well. There's already a protest scheduled in Montreal, why not in other places?

Kind regards from Hanover

Justus R�meth
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Gwiz (profile), 3 Feb 2012 @ 12:28pm

Re:
Knock yourselves out. Just remember to calculate the precentage protesting against the percentage not protecting to judge how much it really matters to most people.

Your response in not surprising.

Attempting to marginalize and minimize this new online activism is about the only recourse you have.
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Squig (profile), 3 Feb 2012 @ 12:34pm

Re: Re: Re: Re:
Yeah, because Google controls Polish citizens like other people control their children. Google has done naught about ACTA.
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khory (profile), 3 Feb 2012 @ 12:38pm

Re:
Are you for real? There are thousands of people willing to take to the streets and voice their outrage about this! How often does that happen?

Attempting to marginalize the outcry is pathetic.
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Anonymous Coward, 3 Feb 2012 @ 12:40pm

Hmmmm.

While watching the backlash against SOPA/PIPA, I thought "Sure, 6 million cats may APPEAR to be acting in concert against a single mouse, but herding cats is still a futile exercise."

Now, I think the cats don't need to be herded at all.
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Jim, 3 Feb 2012 @ 12:51pm

Re:
Remember to calculate the percentage pirating against the percentage not pirating to judge how much it really affects your bottom line.
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Anonymous Coward, 3 Feb 2012 @ 12:56pm

Re:
Ya, because not as ever been against some and demonstrated that in a way other then protesting, for example writing letter to those responsible for what their a against, making website about,etc..
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Dan, 3 Feb 2012 @ 1:05pm

Re: RAH, RAH, RAH!
Ask your government to stop meddling in the politics of other countries. As if it continues you will find some of your friends become your enemy's.
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Anonymous Coward, 3 Feb 2012 @ 1:13pm

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re:
Get your sarcasm detector readjusted
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Squig (profile), 3 Feb 2012 @ 1:13pm

I could see the friends becoming enemies of the American political system, but not the American people. As many/most Americans are paranoid about foreign influence that will be problematic nevertheless.
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Pwdrskir (profile), 3 Feb 2012 @ 1:13pm

Re:
"Kittens think about murder all day long."

Looks like the cats have found suitable prey.
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The eejit (profile), 3 Feb 2012 @ 1:24pm

Re:
Can you imagine the outcry from the US Government if it was discovered, say, Russia called up to confimr that Democrats were voting strictly on party line about their oil and gas?

The US Goivernment needs to be cleansed of its tyrannical career politicians and its corrupted bribery system.
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Mike Uchima (profile), 3 Feb 2012 @ 1:35pm

I am not surprised!
I suspect a fair number of people overseas are starting to view ACTA as an infringement on their national sovereignty. Once people start to perceive it as a form of US economic imperialism, they're gonna get rather pissed off...
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Anonymous Coward, 3 Feb 2012 @ 1:37pm

Re:
Hmmmm, so if I take the amount of people having sex on February 11th and find that less than 50% do it on that day can I conclude that people don't really care about sex and we should restrict it to permit only in a government approved bed?
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Lars (profile), 3 Feb 2012 @ 2:01pm

ACTA
Until everyone begins to boycott the movie industry they will continue to stiff-arm governments into becoming their lackies and bow to their pressure.
Boycott, refuse to attend movies or buy/rent their videos and see how fast all these bills get pulled off the table.
We can all live without movies, but be damned if I can live without my Internet.
Let's start a General Worldwide Boycott - GWB!
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Anonymous Coward, 3 Feb 2012 @ 2:31pm

I think the answer that #8 gave about the end of the industrial era may hit closer than most realize.

In part we are seeing the same thing that happened when we went from agriculture to industrial. People lost jobs, hiring wasn't very good as the jobs were for mechanical people, not farmers, and suddenly as an information age, the internet is prime to this era.

Sneaking around making treaties behind closed doors and having no one to speak for the public on the public domain issue is now showing where that sort of setup's weakness is.

If you make bad laws, people are not going to obey them. Government after government has found this to be true. History is littered with examples of that.

Given the reaction once the people found out about SOPA/PIPA/ACTA how do you think they are going to react to the latest they are working on in secret. Somehow, I think that method is now doomed to failure; stillborn.

The pendulum is finally swinging the other way and will gain momentum. A lobbyist once said that IP rights were boring subject matter that people just didn't have much interest in. The tide has changed and so too the fortune of those pulling off these grab bags of power.

There is one other thing folks can do if they absolutely most go to the theater to see a high priced movie. Don't go during the opening box office days when the Hollydud moguls are eying the box office returns to estimate how well it will do. They spend a lot of time pouring over box office receipts and if they don't show up as money in hand, they will write the movie off as a dud and it will become available sooner.
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Justin Olbrantz (Quantam), 3 Feb 2012 @ 4:16pm

Re: Re: Re: Re:
I can't tell: was that serious or sarcasm?
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Idwal (profile), 3 Feb 2012 @ 4:27pm

Re: I am not surprised!
I'm from the USA, and I'm on *their* side.

I don't want to be an imperialist!
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Anonymous Coward, 3 Feb 2012 @ 5:50pm

Re: Re:
Just curious which of the articles in the agreement cause you concern.
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Anonymous Coward, 3 Feb 2012 @ 5:55pm

Re:
Just remember to calculate the number of shills pressing for these laws to pass compared to everyone else to judge how much these laws really matter to people.
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Anonymous Coward, 3 Feb 2012 @ 5:55pm

Re:
...and the negative impact that ACTA will have on you that gives rise to your ire is...?
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Anonymous Coward, 3 Feb 2012 @ 5:57pm

Re: Re:
Outcry over what? A document that virtually none of them have even seen, much less read for comprehension?
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The Groove Tiger (profile), 3 Feb 2012 @ 7:15pm

Re: Re:
http://lmgtfy.com/?q=negative+impact+of+ACTA
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Anonymous Coward, 3 Feb 2012 @ 8:04pm

Re: Re: Re:
Everything expanding the powers of monopolies and censor tools is of grave concern.
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Anonymous Coward, 3 Feb 2012 @ 8:05pm

Re: Re: Re:
Take it on faith.
Faith that politicians will screw the public every time.
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Anonymous Coward, 3 Feb 2012 @ 8:07pm

And now ACTA falls.
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phyllismc, 3 Feb 2012 @ 8:54pm

Re: RAH, RAH, RAH!
A U.S. Citizen can protest to our own government, which has secretly agreed to sign the ACTA treaty already. They haven't yet, but it's all be very behind the scenes while we were distracted with SOPA and PIPA.
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Anonymous Coward, 3 Feb 2012 @ 8:59pm

Re: Re: Re:
As difficult as it may be for many to understand, there are many who have read the dire predictions permeating the internet and recognize, having read the document and having researched judicial precedents, that the vast majority of the predictions are fallacious.

I have studied both sides of the issues, and in my view those who support the conceptual bases for ACTA stand on firmer ground than those who do not. Moreover, and contrary to what say is the case, opponents who have raised concerns about certain provisions will find that they have not been ignored in the final document. The DNS issue has been put aside for further study. Possible conflicts with peculiarities of US law relating to state and federal sovereign immunity have been addressed. National laws concerning the availability of drugs are now recognized to try and prevent endangering the health of citizens of other nations. The list goes on.

What I find particularly interesting about the entire process is that those negotiating ACTA have shown a willingness to compromise. If only those who stand in abject opposition to anything associated with ACTA were inclined to do the same. Sadly, compromise does not seem to be one of their strong points.
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Al Bert (profile), 4 Feb 2012 @ 12:41am

Re: Re: Re: Re:
A question remains, for even if this is sarcasm, it rests on a knowledge of political cultures less prone to reason.

That is: Why would the White House be the appropriate venue for a meeting between Google and the MPAA? If you think this is perfectly reasonable, I'd venture that your comment was honest and that you truly never will have a clue.
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Josef Anvil (profile), 4 Feb 2012 @ 4:30am

Re: Re: Re: Re:
"What I find particularly interesting about the entire process is that those negotiating ACTA have shown a willingness to compromise. If only those who stand in abject opposition to anything associated with ACTA were inclined to do the same. Sadly, compromise does not seem to be one of their strong points."

That quote is alone should get your post flagged as offensive to the community. If it wasn't for TechDirt, most of us would have been completely unaware of ACTA until it was signed around the world. If you want to know why those opposed to ACTA are unwilling to compromise, try this: The negotiations were conducted in SECRET. It no longer matters what is in ACTA or whether its fixed or whether the rumors about it are false. Mike has been putting forth an effort to educate people about the false claims out there about ACTA, but I don't think that matters anymore.

You don't get to negotiate treaties behind a wall of secrecy and then get upset that people misunderstand and oppose you. If the negotiations were open and the public kept aware of what was going on, then the opposition might be less or not at all, but the negotiators didn't want ANY opposition at all and chose to do their work in secret.

Deal with it.
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Anonymous Coward, 4 Feb 2012 @ 4:44am

The root of the problem is government corruption and abuse of power, we're only fighting the battle when we should also be fighting the war, although i do think this is a positive first step, i hope this brings more awareness to the real problem.

We might win this battle, but the war will rage on, those in power will continue to fight us (propaganda media, ndaa.....a much bigger problem), we gave our goverments their power to govern us to make all our lives easier, and now it seems the ones making the the decisions have become corrupt, i think we need to take that power back and put it into hands of those who truly have our best interest at hearts

I know some might think this is all an exaggeration, i personally dont, food for thought

How far does the corruption go, how high does it go?

If we take care of the littlefish, will that take care of the big fish?

Do you think its safe to have even an ounce of corruption in our governments, knowing now, how easily corruption has becomes the norm?

a bunch of laws that deal specifically with corruption, and abuse of power, resulting in massive penalties and/or jailtime, imunity for whistle blowers, and a massive pro active approach to these new laws to weed out the corrupt by the root, until i start seeing laws like these, i will know we're still being run by the corrupted
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Anonymous Coward, 4 Feb 2012 @ 6:49am

Re: Re: Re: Re:
Re DNS, my mistake. With several documents floating around it is easy to confuse some of their provisions. DNS is used in relation to SOPA and PIPA.
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Anonymous Coward, 4 Feb 2012 @ 6:57am

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re:
In other wordss, ACTA is not about what ACTA says. It is about how it was negotiated.

I presume this means that that statements like "It will censor the internet", "It will kill children who need drugs", "It will end internet 'freedom'", etc. are just slogans, and not substantive issues to the myriad persons who seem inclined to rail against it.
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Michael, 4 Feb 2012 @ 7:34am

Re: Re: RAH, RAH, RAH!
"There are 7 things to do.Add on if you know other suggestions."

Turn off your cable/satellite TV box as much as possible to negate ad revenue and viewer ratings.
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Heretic3e7, 4 Feb 2012 @ 7:43am

Encouraging
Protests are great and a good way to show displeasure with ACTA. I would like to encourage all of those protesting to also boycott. The entertainment industry is entirely dependent on our discretionary spending. Their product is not one essential to survival or even real material comfort. As you raise your fists and voices, close your wallets.

We could quite literally make the source of the problem disappear almost overnight if we really wanted to.
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Spaceboy (profile), 5 Feb 2012 @ 7:24am

Re: Re: Re:
The document hasn't been read by many because no one was allowed to. People are protesting not only the contents but the secrecy around it as well.
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Boo Boo, 5 Feb 2012 @ 3:26pm

don't forget TPP !
TPP is another secret squirrel ' trade agreement ' that everyone needs to be aware of.

http://www.webpronews.com/exclusive-sean-flynn-ip-2012-02

They just keep coming eh ???
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Boo Boo, 5 Feb 2012 @ 3:42pm

Re: Encouraging
Agreed, our most potent weapon against big content is our wallets. We can if we really want to, slay these beasts by not giving them our money. Just stop , its really simple actually. Theres no point whining then going out and buying their product is there ?
Whine like hell AND stop buying their product. That combo will bring these assholes to their knees if enough do it.
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PaulT (profile), 6 Feb 2012 @ 1:46am

Re: Re: Re:
Ah, the old "they haven't read it!" attack on people who disagree with the legislation you're trying to buy. It didn't work when that was all you had to defend SOPA, it isn't going to work now.

Hell, in many ways it doesn't even matter what it contains. It's a naked attempt to pass laws to benefit American corporations at the expense of European citizens, and was drafted in private with no representation for those who aren't paying for it in the first place. That's enough to oppose it, regardless of what it contains.
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Niall (profile), 6 Feb 2012 @ 5:20am

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re:
ACTA is about both how it was negotiated, and what was negotiated in so dodgy a way.

No upstanding law should be discussed in such secrecy, or attempt to be fobbed off avoiding democratic scrutiny (in the US).

Because ACTA was negotiated and implemented (as far as it has been) in bad faith does not take away from that it is problematic and purely designed to prop up an obselete business (model). Because people don't like the cavalier attitude ACTA has towards everyone who isn't the content industry doesn't mean they can't disagree with the incredibly concerning secrecy it was agreed under.
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bratwurzt (profile), 6 Feb 2012 @ 7:28am

Re: ACTA
I'm boycotting with leaving my torrents up for longer periods of time. They call it theft, I call it civil disobedience.
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Anonymous Coward, 7 Feb 2012 @ 3:16pm

Black March Boycott protest ACTA do NOT buy Movies, Music or Video Games for the entire month of March. Starts 3-1-2012 google it and tell friends and family especially if they're in other countries, try to make this a Global Event.
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niiwe (profile), 10 Feb 2012 @ 7:24am

Re: Re: Re:
Given the number of senators and representatives that appeared not to have read and understood SOPA/PIPA, I would be more worried about people voting on unread laws, than people partaking in demonstrations against the same laws.
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Anonymous Coward, 11 Feb 2012 @ 8:32am

If the politicians aren't being bribed, I mean lobbied by somebody, they just don't understand why they should care.
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Nick, 11 Feb 2012 @ 9:49pm

Re: Anonymous Coward (First Post)
Just because you don't physically go out there and protest, doesn't mean you don't care. If I look at every protest in history, it wasn't a high percent of the population. I mean, not every African American came out to protest in the Civil Rights Movement of the 20th century. Not even the majority of them did. But I doubt anyone would say that most of them didn't care.
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