Doyle Urges ACTA Transparency
Rep. Mike Doyle, D-Pa., Tuesday echoed concerns raised by public interest groups about the secrecy surrounding the details of the proposed Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement. During remarks at Public Knowledge's Fair Use Day event, Doyle, an Energy and Commerce Committee member, said transparency is key to ensuring the proposed agreement's legitimacy.
He added that the Office of the U.S. Trade representative has told him that ACTA will not "cement current provisions in the" 1998 Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) into international law that he would like to see changed such as the anti-circumvention provisions. But Doyle noted that some analysts say it could lead to a three-strikes policy such as France's proposed law, which would allow authorities to cut off a users' Internet access for serial online copyright infringement. "I will oppose any effort by Congress or by a trade agreement to cut people off the Internet," Doyle said.
He noted that Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., sent a letter to U.S. Trade Representative Ron Kirk last week also requesting information about the agreement, saying more transparency about the pact will help built public support for it. In the letter, Wyden asked a series of questions about some of the concerns that have been raised about the proposed agreement, the latest draft of which has not been made public.
USTR officials have said the agreement will not require changes in U.S. law but Wyden asked if it would constrain the U.S. ability to modify current law; whether there are any provisions that address third-party liability; and whether the pact would require compliance with provisions found in the DMCA. He also asked what legal initiatives the agreement is seeking to encourage Internet service providers to crack down on online infringers such as requiring ISPs to monitor their customers' online activities.
"USTR strives to be as open and transparent as possible to the American public while also maintaining the ability of ACTA negotiating partners to engage in the frank exchange of views necessary to reach agreement on complex issues," a USTR spokeswoman said in response to Wyden's letter and Doyle's comments. "We have been working closely with our trading partners to bring increased transparency to the ACTA negotiations and we see the need to give the public an opportunity to provide input as we go along. We will continue to work with our trading partners to define the process to allow the public to provide meaningful input."
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