US Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Massachusetts) is wielding her substantial progressive chops in some unexpected (and very welcome) ways. Take, for instance, her recent calls for the Obama administration to release the secret documents the US and 10 other countries in the Pacific region are using to negotiate the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP). The TPP is a secret agreement between a handful of countries that includes provisions dealing with intellectual property, specifically online copyright enforcement and infringement anti-circumvention.
Mark Drajem, writing for Businessweek, reports that in a letter to Michael Froman, Obama’s US Trade Representative (USTR) nominee, Warren wrote:
“I appreciate the willingness of the USTR to make various documents available for review by members of Congress, but I do not believe that is a substitute for more robust public transparency. If transparency would lead to widespread public opposition to a trade agreement, then that trade agreement should not be the policy of the United States.”
Because the Obama administration has classified the TPP as a treaty, it’s not subject to congressional scrutiny. In 2009, the Obama administration denied a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request (.pdf; 444KB) on the grounds of — wait for it — national security (you had to see that one coming). The previous administration of George W. Bush denied a similar FOIA request from the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF).
An early 2011 version of the intellectual property chapter of the US’s proposal (.pdf; 283KB) was leaked about a year ago and the EFF produced a useful analysis (.pdf; 381KB) of its provisions.
Related articles:
- Beware the entertainment cartel’s TPP
The US-based entertainment cartel is hell-bent on putting the internet - Professional ‘rasslin’ on TPP
It was all goodness and light on 12 May when - TPP may be worse than ACTA; we’ll never know until it’s too late
The US versions of vastly overreaching anti-piracy legislation -- the - US cleared advisor speaks out on TPP’s lack of transparency
If you've read the text of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) - New York Times endorses TPP
The New York Times has endorsed the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP),
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Warren calls for Obama to release TPP documentation was originally published by ARTS & FARCES internet on Thursday, 20 June 2013 at 6:08 AM CDT. Copyright © ARTS & FARCES LLC. All rights reserved. | ISSN: 1535-8119 | OCLC: 48219498 | Digital fingerprint: 974a89ee1284e6e92dd256bbfbef3751 (64.237.45.114)