US Embassy In Berlin Offering Cold, Hard Cash For People To Create Pro-TAFTA/TTIP Propaganda

from the beats-transparency dept

We've been writing about the big US/EU "free trade" agreement negotiations (which aren't really about free trade at all), variously named TAFTA or TTIP (negotiators prefer TTIP, to avoid comparisons to NAFTA) for quite some time now. If it were really about free trade, there might be some interesting elements to it, but it's much more about the standard issues like providing corporate sovereignty over national sovereignty, and other things like ratcheting up copyright and patent laws in secret. All this "democracy" is all done very much behind closed doors that won't be opened until many years after the agreement is already reached.

The key negotiators have long been complaining about "misinformation" being spread about this and other agreements -- but it often appears that the misinformation is actually coming directly from the negotiators themselves. Besides, it's pretty rich to complain about misinformation on a deal that you're negotiating in secret. Want to end much of that supposed "misinformation"? Here's a simple suggestion: open up, show some transparency and release the negotiating positions you're taking, or even draft documents of the agreement to allow the public to comment.

But instead of transparency, it appears that the US State Department has settled on another option: paying for propaganda.

No joke, the US Embassy in Berlin has apparently been tweeting out offers to give out between $5,000 and $20,000 to organizations willing to produce pro-TAFTA/TTIP propaganda. The document doesn't ask for proposals for unbiased analysis on the impact of any potential agreement, instead it starts out by simply declaring:

T-TIP will be a fair deal for Europeans and Americans that will build on an already existing strong friendship.

Now that's an interesting claim, given that there is no agreement yet, and what's been negotiated so far is (and will remain) entirely secret. So, uh, how does anyone know if it will be "a fair deal." Wouldn't it be more reasonable and, dare I say, objective, to ask for an analysis of what kinds of things might be useful in an agreement, and what kinds of things might cause harm? Or, better yet, how about a study on the pros and cons of certain proposals, so as to better weigh the benefits and dangers? Instead, the State Department just insists that this secretive, and nowhere near concluded, agreement will definitely be fair... and is offering cold hard cash to anyone who will cook up some argument for why that must be. Anything will do:

The activities funded with a Federal Assistance Award (Grant) ranging from $5000 to $20,000 might include the following innovative ideas:

• short documentaries on T-TIP
• Expert Speaker Tour with proposed names(s) for travel (including per diem and honoraria)
• creation of a Twitterfall wall during a conference
• digital posters in German with QR codes to inform about T-TIP objectives
• a T-TIP conference with a broad swath of stakeholders that can be live-streamed
• online discussion forums on T-TIP
• website devoted to T-TIP

Hmm. We run a site that has online discussions around the agreement. Perhaps we should apply... Somehow, I don't think we'll pass the "screening" process.

Filed Under: berlin, embassy, grants, propaganda, state department, tafta, ttip, us dos, ustr

EU Commissioner Kroes: 'We Are Now Likely To Be In A World Without SOPA And Without ACTA'

from the she-said-what??? dept

Neelie Kroes gave a keynote speech at this year's re:publica conference in Berlin (disclosure: I spoke there too) that brought together many of the themes she has touched on recently -- the open Web, copyright licensing, the potential of open data, and the need to provide enhanced Internet safety for children. Interesting and important as all those are, they pale into insignificance beside the following comment she made:

We have recently seen how many thousands of people are willing to protest against rules which they see as constraining the openness and innovation of the Internet. This is a strong new political voice. And as a force for openness, I welcome it, even if I do not always agree with everything it says on every subject. We are now likely to be in a world without SOPA and without ACTA. Now we need to find solutions to make the Internet a place of freedom, openness, and innovation fit for all citizens, not just for the techno avant-garde.

Coming from one of the most senior members of the European Commission, which is still desperately trying to push ACTA through the European Parliament, that's an extraordinary statement; the question is: what does it really mean?

Some have suggested that this is an attempt to lull ACTA opponents into a false sense of security so as to allow the European Commission to work behind the scenes for ratification. But that seems unlikely: important though the re:publica conference is, such a statement from an EU commissioner there is hardly enough to trick many ACTA opponents into giving up.

Others would like to believe that the European Commission has finally come to its senses and recognized that the opposition to ACTA is too deep and wide to be overcome, and have accepted its inevitable defeat. Again, that is not really credible given the continuing attempts by the European Commission to persuade European politicians to support the referral of ACTA to the European Court of Justice, and to delay the vote in the European Parliament.

What it may indicate is a growing split in the European Commission between the pragmatists like Kroes, who have accepted that ACTA is doomed, even if they are not really very happy with that outcome, and the hardliners led by the commissioner handling the negotiations, Karel De Gucht, who are still fighting a rearguard action.

That fits with what we know about Neelie Kroes. For example, as Techdirt reported, she has come out in favor of copyright reform and against Internet disconnections -- two views that are probably not shared by all her European Commission colleagues. With her latest frank acknowledgement of ACTA's dwindling chances of being ratified, it would seem that, once again, Kroes is in the vanguard of accepting the reality of the digital world, rather than stubbornly fighting it to the bitter end.

Assuming that there is indeed a growing rift within the European Commission, that in itself is significant, because it represents a departure from the earlier position of presenting a unified front. Given that the European Parliament is also divided between the more realistic socialists, liberals and greens on the one hand, and the more recalcitrant conservatives on the other, it looks like a huge fault line is developing right through the European political machine. Against that background, it would seem increasingly unlikely that ACTA will now be ratified by Europe.

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Filed Under: acta, berlin, european union, neelie kroes, re:publica, sopa

Pirate Party Takes 9% Of The Vote In Berlin Elections, Wins A Bunch Of Seats In Parliament

from the that-makes-things-interesting dept

The Pirate Party scored a nice victory a few years ago, having two of its members elected to the European Parliament, but despite a few tries, it had not been able to elect anyone to various state or federal legislatures... until now. TorrentFreak has all the details, but the German Pirate Party was apparently able to secure nearly 9% of the vote in the latest Berlin state parliamentary elections, which should translate into 15 seats in the Berlin Parliament. While many who don't understand the Pirate Party platform think it's just about file sharing, the fact is that more and more young people are recognizing that digital freedom is an important issue. I've long been on the record that I think the name of the party greatly distracts from its overall goals, but I do recognize the reason the party decided to go that way. Getting nearly 9% of the vote in any election for a relatively unknown party is quite impressive. Given that it's Germany, I have to imagine that the ridiculous state of German copyright law played a large role in leading to this election result. If anything it supports the viewpoint that the more draconian copyright law becomes, the less people are going to respect it. The question now is whether or not those elected will actually be able to have any impact, and if the party itself can leverage this into something more.

Filed Under: berlin, germany, parliament, pirate party

Berlin Metro Demands Removal Of Free iPhone Timetable App

from the wouldn't-want-people-to-know-when-to-take-a-train... dept

Every day, we wake up hoping that some bit of common sense will find its way into the world when it comes to copyright issues, and yet every day we seem to find out about more and more ridiculous situations. For example, the Berlin Metro system has ordered a 21-year-old student to stop distributing an iPhone app that helps travelers look up a train schedule. I've used similar apps for train schedules in the US, and they're quite useful. In fact, the convenience of them makes it more likely that I would ride a train. So what's the complaint? Copyright, of course, with a touch of jealousy thrown in.

The Berlin Metro people are claiming that the application somehow violates their copyright on the train schedule and map. It's unclear whether or not there's any substance to the copyright claim. While in the US you can't copyright facts (such as a train schedule), in Europe they do have "database rights," which allow someone to copyright a collection of facts. Perhaps a timetable might fall under such a definition, though it would still be ridiculous to stop this app from being offered.

But, based on statements from the folks at the Berlin Metro, it's clear that this is not just a copyright issue. It's a jealousy issue:

That is our copyright and Apple is one of the richest firms in the world.

This fits with the psychological theory that many people are upset at being better off if it means that someone else is in an even better position. In this case, the Berlin Metro is worse off, because fewer people will use the Metro (and pay for it) because it's not as convenient to get the information. But according to the Berlin Metro, that's fine, because Apple is too rich (even though this app doesn't make Apple any money). Logic, apparently, is not a strong suit of the folks who run the Berlin Metro.

Filed Under: apps, berlin, copyright, germany, iphone, metro, timetable