ACTA text to be published

No mandatory internet cut-offs, say negotiators of anti-counterfeiting agreement.

The draft text of a controversial Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) is to be made public on Wednesday (21 April), negotiators agreed at the latest round of international talks.

The negotiating process had been criticised for its secrecy by civil-liberties groups and internet service providers, who fear that the agreement could lead to stricter controls on content on the internet. MEPs have also criticised the process. ACTA will regulate responses to various forms of piracy and counterfeiting on- and off-line.

In a joint statement released today (16 April), negotiators meeting in Wellington, New Zealand said that there was “a general sense that negotiations have now advanced to a point where making a draft text available to the public will help the process of reaching a final agreement”.

The statement said there was “unanimous agreement that the time [was] right for making available to the public the consolidated text coming out of these discussions”.

Negotiators said there has been “substantial progress” in this week-long round of talks (12-16 April), which was attended by officials from Australia, Canada, the European Commission, Spain as the holder of the rotating presidency of the Council of Ministers, Japan, Korea, Mexico, Morocco, New Zealand, Singapore, Switzerland and the United States.

The statement also responded to fears about internet privacy and access. It said that “no participant is proposing to require governments to mandate a ‘graduated response’ or ‘three strikes’ approach to copyright infringement on the internet”.

This was the eighth round of negotiations on the proposed agreement.

The next negotiating round is to take place in Switzerland in June. The countries concerned hope to complete negotiations this year.