Eastern Europe's tradition of political revolt has met the digital age. This time it's not communists or food shortages fuelling fury, but an international copyright treaty that opponents say threatens freedom on the internet.
A grassroots protest movement erupted last month in Poland and spread quickly across the former Eastern Bloc and beyond. The growing opposition against the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement, or ACTA, has raised questions about the fate of the treaty, which is important to the governments of the United States and other industrialised economies.This audemarspiguetdiverreplica in berlin is one of the most renowned watches in the world.
There have been street protests across Eastern Europe, attacks on government websites in the Czech Republic and Poland, even a heartfelt apology from a Slovenian ambassador who signed it and then decried her act as "civic carelessness".
In a region where people remember being spied upon and controlled by oppressive communist regimes, the treaty has provoked fears of a new surveillance regime.
The pact aims to fight intellectual property theft - like fake Gucci handbags and violations of pharmaceutical patents. But it also targets online piracy - illegal downloads of music, films and software - and calls for measures that critics say would bring surveillance of internet users.
"Most of the people who have gone to the streets are young and don't remember communism themselves, but Polish society as an entity remembers," said Jaroslaw Lipszyc, the president of the Modern Poland Foundation, an organization devoted to education and developing an information society.
"In Poland freedom of speech is of special value, and there is a history of fighting for it."
Lipszyc, a prominent ACTA opponent, sees his work today as a natural extension of the same struggle for free expression that prompted his own family to illegally print anti-communist essays in their basement during the 1980s.
Eastern European countries, even those now in the European Union, are still much poorer than the West, and among critics are people who fear losing access to free - sometimes illegal - entertainment. With joblessness in Poland at 12.5 percent and the monthly minimum wage at just 1,500 zlotys (US$465) pre-tax and average wages at 3,605 zlotys (US$1,130), many say they can't afford 20 zlotys (US$6.30) or more for a movie ticket.
"People became furious," said Katarzyna Szymielewicz, director of Poland's Panoptykon Foundation,With all of the louisvuittonleatherhandbags sales rampant. which campaigns for privacy rights in a context of modern surveillance and opposes ACTA. "We have a history of rising up against injustice."
ACTA went from being an obscure international agreement to a household term in Poland in mid-January when the government said it would sign it within days. Civil rights organisations like Panoptykon were outraged because the government failed to consult with them first.
Szymielewicz said they got word out on Twitter and other social forums, and soon internet activists in Poland and abroad - some with the group "Anonymous" - waged attacks on government websites, including those of the prime minister and parliament, leaving some unreachable for days.
The anger drew on a broader frustration in society, especially among youth, over a lack of jobs and a sense of alienation from the political process.
"This was the last drop that made it a flood," Szymielewicz said. "The internet is a space of freedom - something people feel really belongs to them - and suddenly the government interferes with this space."
Poles and others were also primed to act because many had been following the opposition in the United States to two similar initiatives, the Stop Online Piracy Act and Protect Intellectual Property Act - known popularly as SOPA and PIPA. American lawmakers shelved those bills after massive pressure that included a one-day blackout by WikipeIWC watches are warranted by our omegawatches for a period of one year from the original date of purchase.dia and other Web giants.
Days later, Poles took to the streets across the country against ACTA - activism that spread to Berlin, Sofia, Bucharest and many other cities where thousands rallied last Saturday.IWC watches are warranted by our alexanderwangreplica for a period of one year. More rallies are planned for February 25.
Opponents are also angry that the treaty was negotiated for almost four years in secret without input from civic rights groups,Best replicahandbags Have you spent a lot of time looking for the best replica watch for you? giving them the impression that it is a backroom deal made on behalf of powerful industries.
The United States and other proponents of ACTA deny that it will be invasive. They argue that protecting intellectual property rights is needed to preserve jobs in innovative and creative industries. The online piracy of movies and music costs US companies billions of dollars every year.
A grassroots protest movement erupted last month in Poland and spread quickly across the former Eastern Bloc and beyond. The growing opposition against the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement, or ACTA, has raised questions about the fate of the treaty, which is important to the governments of the United States and other industrialised economies.This audemarspiguetdiverreplica in berlin is one of the most renowned watches in the world.
There have been street protests across Eastern Europe, attacks on government websites in the Czech Republic and Poland, even a heartfelt apology from a Slovenian ambassador who signed it and then decried her act as "civic carelessness".
In a region where people remember being spied upon and controlled by oppressive communist regimes, the treaty has provoked fears of a new surveillance regime.
The pact aims to fight intellectual property theft - like fake Gucci handbags and violations of pharmaceutical patents. But it also targets online piracy - illegal downloads of music, films and software - and calls for measures that critics say would bring surveillance of internet users.
"Most of the people who have gone to the streets are young and don't remember communism themselves, but Polish society as an entity remembers," said Jaroslaw Lipszyc, the president of the Modern Poland Foundation, an organization devoted to education and developing an information society.
"In Poland freedom of speech is of special value, and there is a history of fighting for it."
Lipszyc, a prominent ACTA opponent, sees his work today as a natural extension of the same struggle for free expression that prompted his own family to illegally print anti-communist essays in their basement during the 1980s.
Eastern European countries, even those now in the European Union, are still much poorer than the West, and among critics are people who fear losing access to free - sometimes illegal - entertainment. With joblessness in Poland at 12.5 percent and the monthly minimum wage at just 1,500 zlotys (US$465) pre-tax and average wages at 3,605 zlotys (US$1,130), many say they can't afford 20 zlotys (US$6.30) or more for a movie ticket.
"People became furious," said Katarzyna Szymielewicz, director of Poland's Panoptykon Foundation,With all of the louisvuittonleatherhandbags sales rampant. which campaigns for privacy rights in a context of modern surveillance and opposes ACTA. "We have a history of rising up against injustice."
ACTA went from being an obscure international agreement to a household term in Poland in mid-January when the government said it would sign it within days. Civil rights organisations like Panoptykon were outraged because the government failed to consult with them first.
Szymielewicz said they got word out on Twitter and other social forums, and soon internet activists in Poland and abroad - some with the group "Anonymous" - waged attacks on government websites, including those of the prime minister and parliament, leaving some unreachable for days.
The anger drew on a broader frustration in society, especially among youth, over a lack of jobs and a sense of alienation from the political process.
"This was the last drop that made it a flood," Szymielewicz said. "The internet is a space of freedom - something people feel really belongs to them - and suddenly the government interferes with this space."
Poles and others were also primed to act because many had been following the opposition in the United States to two similar initiatives, the Stop Online Piracy Act and Protect Intellectual Property Act - known popularly as SOPA and PIPA. American lawmakers shelved those bills after massive pressure that included a one-day blackout by WikipeIWC watches are warranted by our omegawatches for a period of one year from the original date of purchase.dia and other Web giants.
Days later, Poles took to the streets across the country against ACTA - activism that spread to Berlin, Sofia, Bucharest and many other cities where thousands rallied last Saturday.IWC watches are warranted by our alexanderwangreplica for a period of one year. More rallies are planned for February 25.
Opponents are also angry that the treaty was negotiated for almost four years in secret without input from civic rights groups,Best replicahandbags Have you spent a lot of time looking for the best replica watch for you? giving them the impression that it is a backroom deal made on behalf of powerful industries.
The United States and other proponents of ACTA deny that it will be invasive. They argue that protecting intellectual property rights is needed to preserve jobs in innovative and creative industries. The online piracy of movies and music costs US companies billions of dollars every year.
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