Brussels – The European Union
on Monday called on the U.S.
and other countries participating in the secret Anti-Counterfeiting Trade
Agreement (ACTA) to publish a draft of their agreement, in part to reassure
those concerned it may include the severing of Internet access for
file-swappers, the Associated Press reported.
Reports on purported draft
versions of the agreement that have leaked indicate that the participating countries
have discussed the possibility of a "three-strikes" style of
addressing illegal file-sharing, where repeat offenders would have their
Internet connections suspended or severed.
"We want to have the
negotiating document released so that rumors can be dispelled," EU trade
official Luc Pierre Devigne said at an European Commission public hearing, the
AP reports.
"Three strikes is no one’s idea, no one has ever proposed
that."
Related Links:
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(AP)
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(DMW previous coverage)
