Some of the issues driving MEPs concerns were that the treaty is too vague and open to misinterpretation and could therefore jeopardise citizens' liberties. The EU's privacy watchdog earlier expressed similar concerns.
A group of MEPs had called before the vote for the parliament to wait for an opinion from the European Court of Justice before taking a final decision on the treaty. Earlier this year the European Commission asked the court to give an opinion on whether the treaty is in line with EU law. However, as the court's opinion is not expected for some months yet, a majority of MEPs rejected the request for a delay in vote.
The ACTA was negotiated by the EU and its member states, the US, Australia, Canada, Japan, Mexico, Morocco, New Zealand, Singapore, South Korea and Switzerland to improve the enforcement of anti-counterfeiting law internationally. The parliament's vote means that neither the EU nor its individual member states can join the agreement.
EuroISPA, the lobby group for ISPs, said it welcomed the parliament's decision. The group noted that negotiations over the text of the treaty had failed to include relevant input from industry stakeholders.
