Infojustice: TPP negotiators are trying to shut you out

Groups from the StopTheTrap.net coalition are on the ground in San Diego as trade reps discuss the restrictive intellectual property aspects of the TPP—the Internet trap. But TPP negotiators aren't making it easy for us to bring your voices to the table. This is unacceptable. Decisions about whether you could be fined for your Internet use should not be made in ways that are secretive, extreme, and anti-democratic. As the EFF puts in in their blog, "we have every right to be furious that government representatives are negotiating an agreement that will harm online expression, privacy, and innovation on the Internet." And we should be even more outraged that they're doing it all behind closed doors. Get under negotiators' skin, and support the groups that are in San Diego right now, by adding your name at http://StopTheTrap.net/ and sharing it around. With your help, it won't be long until our voices get too loud to ignore. Article by Mike Palmedo for infojustice.org: The thirteenth round of negotiations of the TPP began on Monday morning, with stakeholder participation forums at the very beginning of the round. Efforts were made by USTR to accommodate stakeholder requests during a week where scheduling was complicated by a national holiday, but the outcome seemed rushed.

From 11am to 2pm, USTR hosted two types of stakeholder events – a tabling session, where civil society groups set up materials to distribute to the negotiators, and a presentation forum, where people were given ten minutes to present.The presentation forum was split into three tracks; two of which were mainly focused on IP. People found it unfortunate that they were unable attend talks being given by IP groups at the same time (for instance, EFF and Public Knowledge were scheduled at the same time, in separate rooms).

Additionally, the fact that the tabling session and the three tracks of stakeholder presentations coincided with each other – and lasted for less time than in previous rounds – led people to feel that the San Diego stakeholder outreach offered less to civil society than those in previous rounds. Read more »

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Read more at infojustice.org

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