EFF: U.S. Trade Office Withholds Documents on Secret IP Enforcement Treaty

Electronic Frontier Foundation Media Release

For Immediate Release: Thursday, September 18, 2008

Contact:

Gwen Hinze
   International Policy Director
   Electronic Frontier Foundation
   gwen@eff.org
   +1 415 436-9333 x110

Art Brodsky
   Communications Director
   Public Knowledge
   abrodsky@publicknowledge.org
   +1 202 518-0020 (office)   +1 301 908-7715 (cell)

U.S. Trade Office Withholds Documents on Secret IP
Enforcement Treaty

Public Kept in the Dark About Serious Civil Liberties and
Privacy Issues

Washington, D.C. - The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF)
and Public Knowledge have filed suit against the Office of
the United States Trade Representative (USTR), demanding
information about a secret intellectual property
enforcement treaty that the government has put on a fast
track to completion.

The United States, Canada, the European Community,
Switzerland, Japan, the Republic of Korea, Singapore,
Australia, New Zealand, Mexico, Jordan, Morocco, and the
United Arab Emirates are currently negotiating the
Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA).  The full text
of the treaty remains secret, but a document leaked to the
public shows that ACTA could include criminal measures,
increased border search powers, and encouragement for
Internet service providers to cooperate with copyright
holders.  Despite the significant impact ACTA could have on
consumers and the lack of official information available to
the public, treaty proponents want a deal signed by the end
of the year.

"ACTA raises serious concerns for citizens' civil liberties
and privacy rights," said EFF International Policy Director
Gwen Hinze.  "This treaty could potentially change the way
your computer is searched at the border or spark new
invasive monitoring from your ISP.  People need to see the
full text of ACTA now, so that they can evaluate its impact
on their lives and express that opinion to their political
leaders.  Instead, the USTR is keeping us in the dark while
talks go on behind closed doors."

Because of the questions raised by ACTA, EFF and Public
Knowledge filed a request under the Freedom of Information
Act (FOIA) in June for records on the treaty and the
negotiations surrounding the deal.  EFF and Public
Knowledge later clarified the scope of their request in
July in response to concerns raised by the USTR.  But the
USTR still failed to provide any relevant documents.

"The lack of transparency in this process is incredibly
alarming," said Public Knowledge Staff Attorney Sherwin
Siy.  "Whatever form ACTA eventually takes, we can be sure
it will be used to justify further international agreements
and laws.  The agreement text needs to be made public to
ensure that it doesn't encroach upon the rights of users,
consumers, and citizens to access knowledge, information,
and content."

Earlier this week, EFF and Public Knowledge joined more
than 100 public interest organizations from around the
world calling for answers about ACTA.  The coalition is
asking for treaty negotiators to immediately publish the
draft text of the agreement, as well as pre-draft
discussion papers.

For the full complaint:
https://www.eff.org/files/filenode/EFF_PK_v_USTR/USTRcomp...

For more on ACTA:
http://www.eff.org/issues/acta/

For this release:
http://www.eff.org/press/archives/2008/09/17

About EFF

The Electronic Frontier Foundation is the leading civil
liberties organization working to protect rights in the
digital world. Founded in 1990, EFF actively encourages and
challenges industry and government to support free
expression and privacy online. EFF is a member-supported
organization and maintains one of the most linked-to
websites in the world at http://www.eff.org/

     -end-

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