More than 250 technology companies have signed an open letter to Congress criticizing the secretive Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP) for threatening digital innovation, whistleblowing and free speech.
The trade bill has been debated in secret, but the letter calls out several concerns based on leaked texts of the agreement – many of them related to what it claims to be overly vague language.
These include threats to fair use – by virtue of the fact the TPP could prevent countries from expanding limitations and exceptions to copyright.
The letter also claims that the TPP could criminalize journalism and whistleblowing by “making it a crime for people to reveal corporate wrongdoing ‘through a computer system’.”
Start-ups will likely be hit by expensive and onerous provisions to make them responsible for overseeing potentially copyright infringing content, it adds.
Finally, TPP could allow corporations to sue nations “over democratic rules that allegedly harm expected future profits.”
“Companies can use this process to undermine US rules like fair use, net neutrality and others designed to protect the free, open internet and users’ rights to free expression online,” the letter argues.
The signatories also urged Congress to “come out against” a Fast Track (Trade Promotion Authority) bill which they say contains no safeguards to protect freedom of expression and innovation online.
The bill would also effectively legitimize the secretive process in which the TPP was formed, they say.
“We simply cannot allow our policymakers to use secret trade negotiations to make digital policy for the 21st century,” said Maira Sutton, global policy analyst at the Electronic Frontier Foundation.
“Leaks of the TPP agreement have revealed time and time again that this opaque process has led to provisions that undermine our rights to free speech, privacy, and innovation online. The TPP is a huge threat to the Internet and its users. Full stop.”
The letter’s signatories hail mainly from smaller tech companies, with big name players staying notably silent or actively supporting the TPA.
The Semiconductor Industry Association, for example, had the following:
“TPA paves the way for free trade by empowering US negotiators to reach final trade agreements consistent with negotiating objectives laid out by Congress. Free trade is especially critical to the US semiconductor industry, which designs and manufactures the chips that enable virtually all electronics.”