ACTA Will Change Internet Forever

The Anti-Counterfeiting and Trade Agreement (ACTA) treaty negotiations continue in secret - but the word is leaking out and commentary continues to pile up as people (finally) start to understand what it is that the United States is trying to push on the world in the form of a trade agreement. The intrusion into sovereign law by this "treaty" is incredible. itWorldCanada says:

A secret international copyright treaty will impact IT managers just as much as the music and movie industry. Find out what ACTA will do if passed, why it’s even being discussed, and how it might be stopped"

 

More reading:

• European ISPs lash out at secret ACTA negotiations
• WIRED - Europe worries US bowing to "industry" in ACTA talks
• Daily Finance - Leaked document says EU fears Obama backs 'three strikes' for Net priates
• Michael Geist - EU ACTA Analysis Leaks: Confirms plans for global DMCA, endcourage 3 strikes model

Note that Italy has recently passed a law stating that internet access is a human right - they have it correct.

Note that a whole family might get their access turned off (under ACTA driven laws) if someone (not even a family member - maybe someone in a car in the driveway via an open wireless access point) downloads something that looks like a copyright violation. Yes "looks like" and no judicial fallback - this is "administrative" power without need of proof or the ability to confront the accuser.

Note that ACTA would make ISPs responsible for the content that their customers download - to the tune of hundreds of thousands in fines - like making the telephone company repsonsible for terrorist conversations on the phones - this is CRAP! and it means the ISPs HAVE TO SPY ON YOU!

As a former owner of an ISP I can say that this is such a bad treaty that it should be scrapped now - no wonder they are doing it in secret! This smacks of Soviet Russia and Communist China - don't let our governemts go down this rabbit hole!