Digital Rights Activists Gather In Auckland, New Zealand Next Week For The 15th Round Of TPP Negotiations

Next week, the 15th round of Trans-Pacific Partnership agreement (TPP) negotiations will begin in Auckland, New Zealand. Hundreds of delegates and private representatives from the now 11 participating nations will gather at a luxury casino to discuss this multi-faceted trade agreement. EFF, KEI, and the Stop the Trap coalition will also join dozens of other public interest groups to sound the alarm over the TPP's intellectual property (IP) chapter that could likely prompt countries to enact restrictive copyright enforcement laws that would have huge ramifications for users' access to digital content and information. As we mentioned previously, countries continue to join the negotiations with no end in sight.

Local and international groups have organized several events and meetings for civil society and country delegates during the negotiation round in order to call attention to the most pressing issues in the TPP. It's Our Future NZ has been putting on a series of events around New Zealand in November, with rallies and talks leading up to the national day of protest against the TPP on December 8th. EFF will be in Auckland covering these events and any new developments, and will participate in the stakeholder activities on December 7th, presenting on digital freedoms, freedom of information and other issues. During the week, we will participate in meetings with local communities of librarians, artits and students...