Quote ACTA

This page lists the most significant quotes about the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA)

Access to Internet

• Helena Drnovšek Zorko, Slovenian ambassador to Japan, 31 January 2012

"[ACTA]limits and withholds the freedom of engagement on the largest and most significant network in human history, and thus limits particularly the future of our children."
On her blog

Democracy and transparency

• Kader Arif, Member of European Parliament, S&D, France, rapporteur for ACTA, 26 January 2012

"This agreement might have major consequences on citizens' lives, and still, everything is being done to prevent the European Parliament from having its say in this matter. [...] I will not take part in this masquerade."
On his blog

• Reporters without Borders, European Parliament Sakharov Prize Winners, 27 January 2010

"It is extremely regrettable that democratic debate has been eliminated from talks that could have a major impact on such a fundamental freedom as free expression."
Press release

• Stravros Lambrinidis, Member of European Parliament, S&D, Greece

"ACTA is legislation laundering on an international level of what would be very difficult to get through most Parliaments"

• Zuzana Roithova, Member of European Parliament, EPP, Czech Republic

"The European Parliament has had no representation in ACTA negotiations. Just accepting or rejecting an agreement is not an exercise of democracy as under the Lisbon Treaty."

Human Rights

• Widney Brown, Senior Director of International Law and Policy at Amnesty International, 10 February 2012

"The EU should reject ACTA in its current form – implementing the agreement could open a Pandora's box of potential human rights violations."
Press release

Access to medicine

• Rohit Malpani, OXFAM, 15 July 2009

"We can only assume that the final text could do great harm in developing countries and undermine the balance between the protection of intellectual property and the need to provide affordable medicines for poor people."
Press release

• Michelle Childs of Médecins Sans Frontières, Nobel Peace Prize winners

"We are in danger of ending up with the worst of both worlds, pushing IP rules, which are very effective at stopping access to life-saving drugs but are very bad at stopping or preventing fake drugs."

Privacy and data protection

• Peter Hustinx, European Data Protection Supervisor (EDPS), 22 February 2010

"Intellectual property must be protected, but it should not be placed above individuals' rights to privacy and data protection."
Official opinion on ACTA

Internet service providers liability

• EuroISPA (European association of European Internet Services Providers), 24 February 2010

"EuroISPA calls again on European institutions to ensure that no measures could be proposed that could lead to graduated response, criminal sanctions, US-style notice and take down and, indirectly, generalized monitoring of Internet traffic and services."
Press release

• Andrea D'Incecco, public affairs manager from EuroISPA (Business association of European Internet Service Providers)

"Any measures concerning people's right to go online need to be brought in through the proper democratic channels, not via self-regulation, and made into EU law"

• Françoise Castex, Member of European Parliament, S&D, France

"ACTA, by putting pressure on Internet service providers opens the door to private 'three strikes' approaches and generalized surveillance of the Net."

• Alexander Alvaro, Member of European Parliament, ALDE, Germany.

"Third party liability for Internet Server Providers is like making the post office responsible for what is inside the letters they send."