Geraldine Juarez writes in to let us know of her experience attending what was billed as a “public hearing” about the ACTA treaty in Mexico (link in Spanish, Google translation here), which sounded really messed up. First, despite it being a public hearing, originally those putting on the event wanted attendees to sign nondisclosure agreements. After pushing back on this, they finally agreed to remove that requirement, but there was a lot of confusion about it and it may have kept people with serious questions about ACTA from attending. The room, then, was mostly industry people, who were apparently concerned as to why everyday citizens were in attendance, and they even booed a lawyer who questioned the human rights angle. As for Geraldine, she tried twittering the event, and the industry folks demanded she leave (and had a guard escort her out). It’s almost like they’re trying to make themselves into a caricature of businesses plotting to harm the public. When others asked where the actual ACTA discussions in Mexico would be held, they were told that was “confidential.” It appears that the public is certainly not welcome.
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