Updated 5.50 p.m.

Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi said this afternoon that he has requested the drawing up of a Bill to safeguard the people's rights to use the Internet.

Dr Gonzi said in a press statement that the government believed in four civil rights: the right to internet communication without hindrance; the right for information, from whatever sources including the internet; the right for individuals to be able to express themselves, including on the internet, within the context of what was allowed by civil society; and the right for  individuals to decide what information to share, by internet and other means.

These rights, Dr Gonzi, had evolved over the years and needed to be consolidated at law. He had therefore requested the drafting of a law to ensure that these four rights were consolidated and joined other rights which were already found in the Constitution.

Dr Gonzi said progress in Malta and abroad was linked to technology. Malta's future depended on making the best used of information technology. The Internet was a means of communication not just for the young, but for everyone, and Malta was proud of its high Internet usage. It was therefore essential that those four rights were guaranteed.

Economic, social and cultural development also depended on keeping Malta at the forefront of technology. The government, he said, had invested many millions to ensure that IT was available from the lowest primary school classes right up to all sectors of society. Its strategy was therefore clear in that it wanted the use of IT to be as widespread as possible.

All this, he said, had to be put in the context of the ACTA debate. The purpose of ACTA, he said, was to safeguard intellectual rights, which was positive in itself. The value of innovation needed to be protected and the country should have one voice against piracy. However the rights of the people should not be choked off.

The country was in favour of acting against copying and piracy, without closing off the people's rights, he said.

He hoped the Bill would be presented in the coming weeks.

Dr Gonzi's comments came a few hours after some 500 mostly young people held a protest against the ACTA agreement in Valletta in the morning.

The protest started at City Gate and proceeded to St George's Square, where speeches were made.

The protest was organised by the Malta Anti-ACTA Group, with a large number of organisations taking part.

Some of those present wore masks of the type first worn by the Anonymous hacking group and since them adopted by the anti-ACTA movement in Europe.

ACTA, the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement, has been signed by the Maltese government, which has now referred the agreement to a parliamentary committee to discuss ratification.

The aim of this morning's protest was to urge the Maltese parliament not to ratify Acta and for the European Parliament to reject it.

The speeches were delivered by representatives of MOVE, Graffitti, Front kontra ic-Censura, AD, The European Council of Arists and the Labour Youths, among others.

They all appealed to the government to withdrawn from the agreement, pointing out how countries such as Germany have kept their distance from the agreement. They insisted that ACTA was vague and it would limit freedom of expression on the internet. It would also have a negative impact on the right to privacy and destroy open source software.

During the protest some of those taking part carried placards reading 'Acta kills democracy'.