AFTER SOPA and PIPA, say NO WAY to ACTA !!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Dear Mail Artist and Open Internet User,

We've got an important update for you on ACTA (Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement). Overnight, you helped turn ACTA from a forgotten international treaty to the center of the fight for a free and open internet. In October, Access raised the red flag on this dangerous international treaty. But with the downfall of SOPA and PIPA in the United States, the fight has now turned to defeating ACTA. And overnight, the petition went from 10,000 signatures to over 40,000 people from 138 countries!
ACTA has the potential to be worse than PIPA and SOPA, but the good news is we think we can help take ACTA down like we did PIPA and SOPA. While several countries have signed this treaty already, getting a NO vote in the European Parliament will totally dismantle ACTA and send it back to the drawing board. Get all your friends and family to sign the petition calling on the European Parliament to vote NO on ACTA. You can do this in three ways:

1. Forward this e-mail or link along to friends and family: https://www.accessnow.org/page/s/just-say-no-to-acta
2. Go to this page to make it easy to share: https://www.accessnow.org/page/share/just-say-no-to-acta
3. Tweet this or post it on Facebook: #ACTA will destroy open Net. #EU may be only hope to kill rights-abusing treaty. Tell MEPs to vote NO on ACTA! http://bit.ly/pMQ5DQ

We need hundreds of thousands of signatures in order for our petition to be heard in the European Parliament, so we need your help to get this thing to go viral. People are rallying in the streets and spreading the word online: If you thought SOPA and PIPA were bad, let us introduce you to their Big Brother ACTA.
We've seen what happens when we rally together to take down ill-conceived legislation that threatens free speech and our privacy online. Now let's spread the word and send ACTA to the dustbin of history.
Thanks for all your support,
The Access Team
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Hi there,
We helped stopped PIPA and SOPA. Now it's time to turn the fight against their Big Brother, ACTA. The European Parliament is our last hope to stop it. No matter where you live, tell them to vote NO on ACTA! I signed the Access petition, and I think you should too.
https://www.accessnow.org/page/s/just-say-no-to-acta

Further info:
http://www.forbes.com/sites/erikkain/2012/01/23/if-you-thought-sopa-was-bad-just-wait-until-you-meet-acta/

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UPDATE February 2012

What started as a few scattered demonstrations against ACTA has exploded into an international day of action this Saturday! There are nearly 200 events across the world, with hundreds of thousands of people expected to hit the streets to protest this dangerous international agreement.

Our feet have not yet hit the pavement, but our voices are already being heard! Facing a groundswell of opposition to ACTA, the Czech Republic, Poland and Slovenia are already wavering on ratification and the European Parliament’s point person for ACTA resigned his post in protest.
With ACTA’s supporters starting to wake up, we're facing a critical moment. ACTA can still be stopped in the European Parliament, and if it’s defeated there, the whole agreement will unravel. Momentum is on our side and we must not stop now. Click through to find out how to join hundreds of thousands of people protesting online and offline against ACTA:
https://www.accessnow.org/acta-protest
Here you’ll find information about ACTA, a listing of Saturday's protests, fact sheets in several languages to hand out, and steps to download the ACTA Protest USTREAM App so you can livestream the event using your mobile phone. If there’s no protest near you, host one by starting a Facebook event and e-mail info@accessnow.org the link.
While we support the rights of creators, protection of intellectual property should not come at the expense of freedom of speech and our privacy. It is the duty of government to protect our rights, not put them in the hands of corporations and encourage ISPs to act as judge, jury, and executioner over our content and web activity.
Once seen as a done deal, ACTA’s fate is now hanging in the balance. The world is watching. Stand up for internet freedom this Saturday and protest ACTA!
https://www.accessnow.org/acta-protest
See you out there,
The Access Team
P.S. Our petition has hit 350,000 and is still growing. To have the most impact in the European Parliament, it needs to get to 500,000. Help us by sending this link around to your family and friends: https://www.accessnow.org/acta 

Cartoon from Malisa Shones