EU Parlamentarian Gallo: ACTA Dissent 'A Soft Form Of Terrorism'

from the she-finally-said-it dept

Marielle Gallo is probably best known for the Gallo Report, which Techdirt described back in 2010 as a "similarly draconian intellectual property enforcement" to ACTA, with which it has much in common. So it's no surprise that Gallo has been one of the few vocal supporters of ACTA, and it was widely expected that the EU's Legal Affairs (JURI) committee she chairs would support her draft opinion calling for ACTA to be ratified. As we now know, that didn't happen, and JURI formed one of five committees that all recommended that ACTA should be rejected.

Gallo must be a little taken aback by this turnaround: from easily pushing through her Report with its harsh proposals against copyright infringement, she now finds herself increasingly marginalized within the European Parliament on the subject of ACTA precisely because of its disproportionate measures designed to deal with copyright infringement online. A fascinating interview in PC INpact (original in French) gives us an insight into her state of mind at the moment..

As you might expect, she speaks of the "the disinformation campaign we have been enduring for the past months", the standard line taken by the European Commission and its allies. She also makes the interesting claim that "We're supposed to represent citizens, but since they are busy with other things, we are supposed to think for them!" But she reserves her choicest words for the people who have dared to disagree with the pro-ACTA camp:

It's not only a disinformation campaign. It's a soft form of terrorism that frightens people. People are being scared. It's a fantasy. ACTA has become a fantasy. And that, that's propagated by the whole Internet network.

So there we have it. Anyone who dares to disagree with those politicians doing all that thinking are "soft" terrorists, making subversive use of "the whole Internet network" to spread their "fantasy." It was probably inevitable that someone would play the politicians' trump card -- terrorism – against ACTA opponents; and it's no surprise that it was Marielle Gallo that finally did so.

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Filed Under: acta, european union, gallo report, juri, marielle gallo, terrorism

Three Key EU Parliament Committees Vote 'Just Say No' To ACTA

from the some-good-news dept

While some have believed that ACTA is already dead in Europe, there are still actual votes to be held, and there have been significant concerns that political trickery might lead to ACTA actually being approved. The first three key votes (from three specific committees) happened today, and while it was close, all three came out with recommendations to reject ACTA. As Rick Falkvinge points out, one telling point is if you look at the votes on the Committee on Legal Affairs (Juri) and the Committee on Industry, Research and Energy (ITRE). The winning proposal for ITRE was drafted by Pirate Party MEP (and occasional Techdirt contributor) Amelia Andersdotter. The losing proposal for Juri was written by Marielle Gallo -- author of the infamous Gallo Report a few years ago, pushing the EU Parliament to support massively draconian IP enforcement rules. In other words, "the pirate" vs. "the copyright maximalist" in an EU Parlimantary committee votes... and the pirate won. Not too long ago, such a result would be unthinkable. However, it shows how quickly things can shift when you have reality on your side...

Filed Under: acta, amelia andersdotter, european union, itre, marielle gallo, pirate party, rick falkvinge

New EU Parliamentary Forum To Push For Even More Draconian Copyright Laws And Enforcement

from the more-is-never-enough dept

Last year, Techdirt reported on the approval by the European Parliament of the Gallo Report, which calls for harsher enforcement of intellectual monopolies. Although the Report has no legal force, it's important, since it functions as a framework for future legislation in this area. And now the eponymous French MEP Marielle Gallo is at it again, with her new "IP Forum":

The IP Forum is a new platform that intends to trigger a dialogue among parties, experts and policymakers in the areas of copyright and industrial property.

The main objective is to bring together policymakers and stakeholders from different industries and to reflect on the upcoming legislative and non legislative proposals of the European Commission that are of paramount importance for the competitiveness of the EU economy.

In other words, this is designed as another talking shop to give industry lobbyists an opportunity to bend the ear of European politicians. Conspicuous by their absence, of course, are any representatives of those most affected by legislation -- the public.

It's also a chance for copyright maximalists to get together and repeat the same unsubstantiated claims about the "damage" caused by piracy and the need for urgent action, as Gallo's first conference, "IPR enforcement in the digital era", makes clear:

Thanks to the Internet, dissemination of copyrighted works has never been so easy. At the same time however, several studies have demonstrated the negative impact of piracy to the cultural and creative industries and to the economy altogether. The transfer of the European Observatory of Counterfeiting and Piracy to the OHIM will enable policymakers to dispose, in the future, of data on the effects of piracy that may not be put into question. In the meantime there is still a pressing need to act.

During this conference, we will have the opportunity to listen to Victoria Espinel, the US IP Enforcement coordinator, who will give us an outlook on the current state of play in the United States of IPR enforcement on the internet. We will also exchange our views with several associations and companies on the possible review of the IPR Enforcement directive and also on the specific changes that policymakers should bring about.

But there simply aren't "several studies" that genuinely demonstrate the negative impact of piracy; the UK's Hargreaves Review looked for some, and this is what it found:

The Review team has examined numerous studies, including those in the table above, and a supporting paper looks at the methodological strengths and weaknesses of this work. With the exception of the Industry Canada study, we have either not been able to examine the methodology of the studies or, where we have, we have discovered problems with the methodology. Consequently, we have not found either a figure for the prevalence and impact of piracy worldwide or for the UK in which we can place our confidence.

Translated from British English, that roughly means "they're all garbage."

In fact, Gallo herself touches on this key issue when she writes of future "data on the effects of piracy that may not be put into question" -- tacitly acknowledging that the current data can be put into question.

She has more to say about the international angle on her Policies page:

Our industrialized trade partners ... have taken all necessary measures to protect effectively their companies from counterfeiting and piracy. These measures have been welcomed by trade unions. At the same time, through its trade policy the European Union participates internationally to the creation of an appropriate legal framework in order to enable our companies and their employees to benefit fully from globalization.

This gives a hint of some of the likely aims of Gallo's new forum: helping to push ACTA's "legal framework" through the European Parliament and perhaps even drumming up support for a European SOPA, just as the US DMCA was transposed into the EU's EUCD. Once again, Gallo's new initiative shows that no matter how much the copyright maximalists get in terms of legislation and treaties, they always want more – and will work in concert to get it.

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Filed Under: copyright, enforcement, eu, eu parliament, ip forum, marielle gallo