TMCnet Feature Free eNews Subscription
January 25, 2012

Going Dark in Poland: the Protest of ACTA

By Julie Griffin, Contributing Writer

Just as Wikipedia kept its promise to “go dark” last Wednesday in protest of SOPA and PIPA, Polish websites are also threatening to “go dark” – but the Polish are opposing the passing of ACTA (Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement).  The similarities shared by protesters of SOPA in the U.S. and protesters of ACTA in Poland extend beyond the slew of acronyms.



On January 18, 2012, Wikipedia went through with their threat to go dark in protest of SOPA. The following day, Poland announced its intentions to sign the ACTA treaty. Polish government said that the signing will take place on January 26, 2012. Since the announcement, Poland has experience a heightened degree of protests.

The fact that SOPA received such a publicized protest in the U.S. the day before Poland announced its intentions to sign with ACTA, has some wondering if the Polish government could have selected better timing.

Protestors of SOPA share some of the same concerns as protestors of ACTA: Protesters worry that individual rights to privacy will suffer at the expense of censorship. The groups are concerned about what will happen when free educational resources are no longer available. Many people in both the SOPA and ACTA protest groups do not welcome how the new laws will impact everyone’s usage of the Web.

Clay Shirky of The Guardian has said, “SOPA and PIPA would create a consumption-only Internet.”

Although protesters of SOPA include educational giants like Wikipedia, people in Poland who are in favor of the ACTA are educational influences of some sort. A group known as the ZAIKS represent a community of educated individuals that include Polish artists, authors, and educators. ZAIK claims that their support of ACTA is out of respect to intellectual property. Prime Minister Donald Tusk has assured the ZAIKS that despite the efforts of protesters to go dark, Poland will sign the treaty in two days.

Want to learn more about the latest in communications and technology? Then be sure to attend ITEXPO East 2012, taking place Jan. 31-Feb. 3 2012, in Miami, FL. ITEXPO (News - Alert) offers an educational program to help corporate decision makers select the right IP-based voice, video, fax and unified communications solutions to improve their operations. It's also where service providers learn how to profitably roll out the services their subscribers are clamoring for – and where resellers can learn about new growth opportunities. For more information on registering for ITEXPO registration, click here.

Stay in touch with everything happening at ITEXPO. Follow us on Twitter.



Julie Griffin has a B.A. in English from the University of Kentucky and covers technology news and communications related topics. Known best for her various web publications, Griffin also occasionally contributes to local press.

Edited by Jennifer Russell
» More TMCnet Feature Articles
Get stories like this delivered straight to your inbox. [Free eNews Subscription]
SHARE THIS ARTICLE

LATEST TMCNET ARTICLES

» More TMCnet Feature Articles