The Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement and European Civil Society: A Case Study on Networked Advocacy

Why was the European Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA), initially expected to be easily approved, ultimately rejected? Losey examines the role of civil society organizations in influencing this outcome. He describes how a small core group of national and transnational civil society organizations, supported by a range of communications technologies, played critical roles at different times, often acting more as network nodes than as traditional leaders. They successfully disrupted the ACTA negotiation process, which was seen as an attempt to push previously rejected provisions into law through a different avenue. This article documents the advocacy process beyond the more visible uses of digital media by social movements, and analyzes the less visible networks of civil society organizations in information policy debates.