Anti-ACTA demonstration in Luxembourg

(CS) Demonstrations will be held across Europe on Saturday against an agreement which would change the landscape of copyright and anti-piracy law with a particular impact on the Internet.

The Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) will establish a legal framework for targeting copyright infringement on the Internet, counterfeit goods, and other piracy-related issues in a bid to protect intellectual property.

However, a video released by the Anonymous movement explains some of the pitfalls of the agreement, which was signed in January by the European Union and 22 of its members states, including Luxembourg.

Luxembourg's Pirate Party has issued a statement in support of the demonstration, saying that ACTA fundamentally infringes civil rights, privacy, as well as innovation and competitiveness.

In an interview with wort.lu Pirate Party head Sven Clement explained that ACTA brought American lawmaking to Europe, with tougher damages payments and stricter copyrights. “For example, when someone publishes a photo on Facebook that doesn't belong to them, they could be charged for that.”

The World Wide Web would become more commercial under ACTA, thinks Clement, adding that “the Internet will not be the same.”

The anti-ACTA demonstration in Luxembourg takes place on Saturday, February 11, at 12.30pm on the Place d'Armes.