International activists and advocates of free internet have reportedly attacked Polish government websites, protesting Warsaw’s plans to sign the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA).
ACTA said to be a highly influential agreement, slated to be signed in Tokyo on Tokyo, raised fears among its critics of internet censorship.
A draft of ACTA said it intended to improve the enforcement of property rights among participating countries.
As the Polish government geared up to sign this treaty, the websites of the prime minister, parliament and other government offices became unreachable.
A statement by hackers on Twitter said they would continue to disrupt the websites till January 26.
The also threatened to reveal official Polish documents, if ACTA was passed.
A Polish government spokesman Pawel Gras denied any attacks and said that the sites were slow due to heavy traffic, a statement that was mocked by the hackers.
Polish opposition party Democratic Left Alliance also held the view the government should not sign the agreement.
Minister for administration and digitisation Michael Boni admitted that the goverment had not taken the public into confidence regarding this issue.
Like the opponents of SOPA and PIPA, the anti-piracy bills introduced in US, critics of ACTA argue that it will curtail freedom of expression on the internet.
