By putting legal and monetary pressure on Internet service providers (in a most subtler way than in previous versions of the text), ACTA will give the music and movie industries a weapon to force them to police their networks and users themselves.

By putting legal and monetary pressure on Internet service providers (in a most subtler way than in previous versions of the text), ACTA will give the music and movie industries a weapon to force them to police their networks and users themselves. Such a private police and justice of the Net is incompatible with democratic imperatives and represent a real threat for fundamental freedoms.

Public pressure has helped make ACTA marginally better, but the release of text confirms many of the fears regarding the substance of the treaty.

Whatever the final text will be after the next negotiation rounds, the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement will remain an illegitimate agreement, by its elaboration process (beyond any democratic control) as well as its content (further strengthening of an outdated set of legislation).

The 8th round of negotiations on the controversial Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement wrapped-up in New Zealand last week, with negotiators announcing that the ACTA text will be made public next Wednesday, April 21.

With the release of leaked versions of the proposed Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement, opposition to the drafting process continues to grow.

The US government still hasn't gotten the message. President Obama and his administration are blocking release of the full text of ACTA. They don't want the public to know what the negotiators are up to, because they know we wouldn't stand for it.

Senators have begun to express concern over the secrecy and content of ACTA, while the MPAA, RIAA ,,, rush to reassure them that ACTA — will be good for business and that "transparency is a distraction".

Over the past week, I have had several posts on ACTA in the wake of the most recent leaked text, including a scorecard on the major remaining areas of disagreement, one assessing the growing rift between the U.S. and E.U., Canadian positions on ACTA, the changed U.S. position on anti-circumvention rules, and a look at geographical indications, a key issue for the EU.