ACTA fails to gain ITC approval, MEPs vote to reject controversial piracy treaty

The controversial Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) has been rejected by the International Trade Committee. Made up of Members of the European Parliament (MEPs), the committee voted 19 against and 12 in favor with no abstentions. The ITC vote will now act as a final recommendation to the European Parliament when it makes its final decision in early July. Many have expected ACTA to fail for some time now, and today’s events make the parliament’s decision almost a certainty.

The ‘no’ vote follows condemnation from other EU committees, the European Data Protection Supervisor, and Europe in general. Most complaints regarding ACTA stem from a perceived invasion of privacy in the proposed agreement. ACTA was conceived as a way to halt the transfer of counterfeit goods — both tangible and digital — between nations. The EC is expected to announce its final decision in the first week of July and we’ll bring you the news as soon as it happens. In the meantime, you can follow the saga from start to finish using our Storystream.