The Finance Ministry this evening sought to clarify the situation following the signing of the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA), insisting that the agreement will not lead to the censorship of websites.
"ACTA is not about checking or monitoring private communication on the internet. It will not censor websites and has nothing to do with how individual citizens use the internet. Furthermore, the trade agreement will not lead to limitations of fundamental rights (e.g. control of laptops of air passengers at borders and the monitoring of internet traffic). The respect of fundamental rights such as privacy, freedom of expression and data protection is expressively mentioned as a basic principle of the agreement."
The ministry said ACTA will not change existing EU legislation. It will not create new Intellectual Property Rights (IPRs), but, rather, it concerns procedures and measures to enforce existing rights and to act against large scale infringements, often pursued by criminal organisations.
This would benefit the EU's economy and citizens' rights.
"ACTA will furthermore ensure that the existing EU high standards of intellectual...
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