Many of the people protesting about ACTA were quite informed as to what it was, despite the efforts of those trying to get it passed. "They just didn't understand it" was some of the rhetoric from those trying to hoodwink the public with half truths and outright lies, so it stretches your credibility quite a bit when you start parroting that same rhetoric. As for the loudest voices being the only ones heard, can you point me to either loud or quiet public voices that were strongly in favor of ACTA? Because somehow it seemed that the vast majority of people who actually knew about ACTA weren't particularly fond of it. Trying to counter that fact with "Well, all those people who were kept in the dark had no problem with it" comes across as bullshit of the highest order.

Depends if they've actually ratified it. Many countries have signed it, but I'm not sure if any have actually ratified it yet. I know the US hasn't ratified it, and I don't think Australia has ratified it either. If all of Europe is dropping out of the treaty then this may result in other countries deciding not to ratify it either.

I'm not defending ACTA, why would I? That treaty was bad news from the beginning, but that was never a point I was making. (In my personal opinion, that was just a badly written treaty were most of the people writing it had no clue about the broader implications.)

I was raising doubts that everybody and their kid who made a funny clipart about ACTA was actually sure he knows what it is. If you think the majority of people opposing it were well informed about it, then I'm all for it.

But I read the weirdest thing about this from the start. I can't even count the number of times people were complaining about the new ACTA law [sic!].

The moment we enjoy victories like this to much and lay back with "ah, yes, all is well" is the moment we let our guard down. Never forget that there are a lot of manufacturers out there that really want to see IP protection gone. There are no easy answers amd no black and white decisions.

For me, the protest against ACTA wasn't a political movement, it was a hype. If I'm wrong, then fine. But from my point of view people were far to willingly accepting the easy answers. This time, it was the right decision. Who knows where it leads the next time.

I was so glad that politics were as far as it takes from anti-ACTA protests.

I'm sick and tired of seeing politicians wipeing their dirty mouthes with people's movements.

And as I've said before - it's not a bad thing, when people opose against something just because govt. tried to hide it from public for as long as it 's possible. (so did EU, writing information about ACTA on the last page of Fishing Comiteee (or whatever it was) report.

I grant that a fair number of people were bandwagoning, but in this case I'd say that it's something to be thankful for given the end result. Very few people take a genuine interest in their rights and responsibilities as IP consumers and with their personal data - just look at what people publish on Facebook - and in the case of ACTA, if it hadn't been for the media hype, it probably would have been signed, a directive passed and corresponding legislation enacted in the member states before you could say "copyright mafia".

Very few people are prepared to really look at the way legal developments affect them. Hell, half of them don't even understand the language. Not all of them are exposed to poorly-written legalese to deal with day by day on a professional basis like you and I are.

It's very much a case of the ends justifying the dubious means.

Exactly. If only well educated and aware people went to the streets (did you go, SimonG?), there wouldn't be as much to get media attention, and it would be just another protest politicians pissed on.

Of course not, I was one of the benefactors, dammit!

http://www.myfacewhen.net/uploads/3594-i-knew-it.jpg ;)