OSCE media representative urges European Parliament to revise ACTAFebruary 15, 2012 - 11:48 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - In a letter to the President of the European Parliament, Martin Schulz, on Feb 14, OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media Dunja Mijatović urged the Parliament to safeguard free expression when discussing the draft Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA). The letter to Schulz follows her January statement on ACTA as well as the Stop Online Piracy Act and Protect Intellectual Property Act in the United States, in which Mijatović warned about the dangers of placing the interests of rights holders above the fundamental right to freedom of expression and the right to privacy. “In my role as the OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media, I am mandated to observe media freedom developments in the OSCE participating states and am concerned that the present agreement on ACTA might have a detrimental affect on freedom of expression and a free flow of information in the digital age,” Mijatović wrote in her letter. The Representative highlighted a number of concerns, including that ACTA would authorize online service providers to disclose personal information of alleged copyright infringers to rights holders without a court order or the right to appeal, placing the decision on the legal status of content outside the established judicial framework. Furthermore, these provisions would not provide for any guarantees of the right to privacy or the free flow of information, she said. The Representative asked the European Parliament to take these issues into account when discussing ACTA. “I think that it would be helpful to conduct a thorough assessment of the effect the agreement might have on fundamental rights, particularly freedom of expression and the right to privacy in the European Union and beyond,” Mijatović wrote. “International copyright provisions were adopted a century ago, at a time when the first houses in Europe were equipped with electricity, not to speak about broadband. These provisions are not fitted well today to the pace of the digital age we are living in, with the ability to share information across borders,” she added. Top stories Yerevan will host the 2024 edition of the World Congress On Information Technology (WCIT). Rustam Badasyan said due to the lack of such regulation, the state budget is deprived of VAT revenues. Krisp’s smart noise suppression tech silences ambient sounds and isolates your voice for calls. Gurgen Khachatryan claimed that the "illegalities have been taking place in 2020." Partner news Most popular in the section | European Parliament to discuss repression in Azerbaijan The European Parliament will discuss repression of civil society in Azerbaijan on April 24 PACE wants concessions from Azerbaijan to accept Baku back A PACE co-rapporteur said that Azerbaijani authorities must make certain concessions so that the country can return to PACE. Cyprus parliament honors Armenian genocide victims Acting House President Zacharias Koulias noted that April 24 marks the “black anniversary” of the Armenian genocide. Armenia PM, France envoy discuss regional matters Issues related to the consistent development of Armenia-France cooperation were discussed. |