SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FREE NEWSLETTER
Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
The letter to Sen. Wyden states that the deals could "carry provisions threatening Internet freedom and the digital rights of users without full Congressional input." (Photo: Frank Esposito, Fox Valley Citizens For Peace and Justice)
Amid White House Push for Fast Track, Digital Rights Groups Mount Call for Opposition
Groups urge Sen. Wyden to stand up for transparency, say trade deals threaten Internet users' rights
Jan 27, 2015
As the Obama administration continues its push for Fast Track trade authority, a group of digital rights groups on on Tuesday urged the Ranking Member of the Senate Finance Committee to stand up for transparency and Internet users by opposing the process.
Fast Track, also called Trade Promotion Authority (TPA), can push a trade deal's passage through Congress by giving the president executive power to negotiate deals without Congressional consultation and then gives the body only an up or down vote on the deal.
President Obama has been doubling down on his effort to push forth Fast Track as the administration continues negotiations on two major trade deals-- the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) and the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) .
The groups behind the new call for Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) to oppose Fast Track are Creative Commons, Electronic Frontier Foundation, Internet Archive, Knowledge Ecology International, New Media Rights, OpenMedia International and Public Knowledge. They write that the authority could be used to ram through deals that "carry provisions threatening Internet freedom and the digital rights of users without full Congressional input."
The letter states: "we need you to stand up against weak compromises and amendments to TPA that do not fully address the glaring lack of transparency and democratic oversight in trade negotiations, and apply retroactively to current negotiations including TTIP and TPP."
"Overwhelming" influence from powerful industry could "prevent the US from reforming and updating its laws to new digital realities in the coming decades," the letter warns.
"Please do not support TPA. The Internet is counting on you," the letter concludes.
Carolina Rossini, Vice President for International Policy of Public Knowledge, added in a media statement Tuesday: "The digital rights norms set in the 21st century agreements, including the TPP and the TTIP will directly impact billions of people. At this point they've had no say in the drafting of these agreements, and that's unacceptable."
"We've learned from previous leaks and conversations with policy makers that at least three chapters (the intellectual property chapter, the services chapter, and the e-commerce chapter) of the TPP could impact our consumer and online rights. We urge Congress to avoid the mistake of authorizing Fast Track, which could risk these rights," Rossini stated.
The groups' letter comes the same day as United States Trade Representative Michael Froman spoke at Wyden's Senate Committee on Finance, where he said that Fast Track "puts Congress in the driver's seat to define our negotiating objectives and strengthens Congressional oversight by requiring consultations and transparency throughout the negotiating process."
Froman also called it "Congress's best tool to ensure that there is ample time for public scrutiny and debate on U.S. trade agreements."
Yet negotiations for TPP have already been taking place for five years, and the White House's senior Asia advisor said last week that the deal was "in the end game of its negotiations." Both deals have also been criticized for secrecy surrounding the texts.
An Urgent Message From Our Co-Founder
Dear Common Dreams reader, The U.S. is on a fast track to authoritarianism like nothing I've ever seen. Meanwhile, corporate news outlets are utterly capitulating to Trump, twisting their coverage to avoid drawing his ire while lining up to stuff cash in his pockets. That's why I believe that Common Dreams is doing the best and most consequential reporting that we've ever done. Our small but mighty team is a progressive reporting powerhouse, covering the news every day that the corporate media never will. Our mission has always been simple: To inform. To inspire. And to ignite change for the common good. Now here's the key piece that I want all our readers to understand: None of this would be possible without your financial support. That's not just some fundraising cliche. It's the absolute and literal truth. We don't accept corporate advertising and never will. We don't have a paywall because we don't think people should be blocked from critical news based on their ability to pay. Everything we do is funded by the donations of readers like you. Will you donate now to help power the nonprofit, independent reporting of Common Dreams? Thank you for being a vital member of our community. Together, we can keep independent journalism alive when it’s needed most. - Craig Brown, Co-founder |
Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.
As the Obama administration continues its push for Fast Track trade authority, a group of digital rights groups on on Tuesday urged the Ranking Member of the Senate Finance Committee to stand up for transparency and Internet users by opposing the process.
Fast Track, also called Trade Promotion Authority (TPA), can push a trade deal's passage through Congress by giving the president executive power to negotiate deals without Congressional consultation and then gives the body only an up or down vote on the deal.
President Obama has been doubling down on his effort to push forth Fast Track as the administration continues negotiations on two major trade deals-- the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) and the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) .
The groups behind the new call for Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) to oppose Fast Track are Creative Commons, Electronic Frontier Foundation, Internet Archive, Knowledge Ecology International, New Media Rights, OpenMedia International and Public Knowledge. They write that the authority could be used to ram through deals that "carry provisions threatening Internet freedom and the digital rights of users without full Congressional input."
The letter states: "we need you to stand up against weak compromises and amendments to TPA that do not fully address the glaring lack of transparency and democratic oversight in trade negotiations, and apply retroactively to current negotiations including TTIP and TPP."
"Overwhelming" influence from powerful industry could "prevent the US from reforming and updating its laws to new digital realities in the coming decades," the letter warns.
"Please do not support TPA. The Internet is counting on you," the letter concludes.
Carolina Rossini, Vice President for International Policy of Public Knowledge, added in a media statement Tuesday: "The digital rights norms set in the 21st century agreements, including the TPP and the TTIP will directly impact billions of people. At this point they've had no say in the drafting of these agreements, and that's unacceptable."
"We've learned from previous leaks and conversations with policy makers that at least three chapters (the intellectual property chapter, the services chapter, and the e-commerce chapter) of the TPP could impact our consumer and online rights. We urge Congress to avoid the mistake of authorizing Fast Track, which could risk these rights," Rossini stated.
The groups' letter comes the same day as United States Trade Representative Michael Froman spoke at Wyden's Senate Committee on Finance, where he said that Fast Track "puts Congress in the driver's seat to define our negotiating objectives and strengthens Congressional oversight by requiring consultations and transparency throughout the negotiating process."
Froman also called it "Congress's best tool to ensure that there is ample time for public scrutiny and debate on U.S. trade agreements."
Yet negotiations for TPP have already been taking place for five years, and the White House's senior Asia advisor said last week that the deal was "in the end game of its negotiations." Both deals have also been criticized for secrecy surrounding the texts.
As the Obama administration continues its push for Fast Track trade authority, a group of digital rights groups on on Tuesday urged the Ranking Member of the Senate Finance Committee to stand up for transparency and Internet users by opposing the process.
Fast Track, also called Trade Promotion Authority (TPA), can push a trade deal's passage through Congress by giving the president executive power to negotiate deals without Congressional consultation and then gives the body only an up or down vote on the deal.
President Obama has been doubling down on his effort to push forth Fast Track as the administration continues negotiations on two major trade deals-- the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) and the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) .
The groups behind the new call for Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) to oppose Fast Track are Creative Commons, Electronic Frontier Foundation, Internet Archive, Knowledge Ecology International, New Media Rights, OpenMedia International and Public Knowledge. They write that the authority could be used to ram through deals that "carry provisions threatening Internet freedom and the digital rights of users without full Congressional input."
The letter states: "we need you to stand up against weak compromises and amendments to TPA that do not fully address the glaring lack of transparency and democratic oversight in trade negotiations, and apply retroactively to current negotiations including TTIP and TPP."
"Overwhelming" influence from powerful industry could "prevent the US from reforming and updating its laws to new digital realities in the coming decades," the letter warns.
"Please do not support TPA. The Internet is counting on you," the letter concludes.
Carolina Rossini, Vice President for International Policy of Public Knowledge, added in a media statement Tuesday: "The digital rights norms set in the 21st century agreements, including the TPP and the TTIP will directly impact billions of people. At this point they've had no say in the drafting of these agreements, and that's unacceptable."
"We've learned from previous leaks and conversations with policy makers that at least three chapters (the intellectual property chapter, the services chapter, and the e-commerce chapter) of the TPP could impact our consumer and online rights. We urge Congress to avoid the mistake of authorizing Fast Track, which could risk these rights," Rossini stated.
The groups' letter comes the same day as United States Trade Representative Michael Froman spoke at Wyden's Senate Committee on Finance, where he said that Fast Track "puts Congress in the driver's seat to define our negotiating objectives and strengthens Congressional oversight by requiring consultations and transparency throughout the negotiating process."
Froman also called it "Congress's best tool to ensure that there is ample time for public scrutiny and debate on U.S. trade agreements."
Yet negotiations for TPP have already been taking place for five years, and the White House's senior Asia advisor said last week that the deal was "in the end game of its negotiations." Both deals have also been criticized for secrecy surrounding the texts.
We've had enough. The 1% own and operate the corporate media. They are doing everything they can to defend the status quo, squash dissent and protect the wealthy and the powerful. The Common Dreams media model is different. We cover the news that matters to the 99%. Our mission? To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. How? Nonprofit. Independent. Reader-supported. Free to read. Free to republish. Free to share. With no advertising. No paywalls. No selling of your data. Thousands of small donations fund our newsroom and allow us to continue publishing. Can you chip in? We can't do it without you. Thank you.