http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100322/ap_on_hi_te/eu_eu_internet_piracyBRUSSELS – The European Union said Monday it wants the United States and others to publish a draft global anti-piracy deal to end rumors that it advocates cutting off Internet access for illegal downloaders.
European Internet service providers said last month that they were alarmed by leaked details of the secret talks that they feared could lead to criminal sanctions and "three strikes and you're out" cease-and-desist orders to cut off access for users who share copyrighted content.
They worry about legal changes that could make them liable when users break the law and warn that this would damage users' rights to privacy and freedom of expression and ultimately stifle innovation and competition in Europe's Internet industry.
EU trade official Luc Pierre Devigne told a European Commission public hearing that the EU would seek to get the U.S., Canada, Mexico, South Korea, Japan and others to agree on publishing a draft text of the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement at April talks in New Zealand.
It seems private deals are all the rage at the moment. Open government is becoming a thing of the past. Probably because people would question the basis on which this underhand law making is taking place. Why are they so scared of letting the public see how they come to decisions?
