ACTA Internet Chapter Leaked — Bad For Everyone

roju writes "Cory Doctorow is reporting on a leaked copy of the 'internet enforcement' portion of the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement. He describes it as reading like a 'DMCA-plus' with provisions for third-party liability, digital locks, and 'a duty to technology firms to shut down infringement where they have "actual knowledge" that such is taking place.' For example, this could mean legal responsibility shifting to Apple for customers copying mp3s onto their iPods." Adds an anonymous reader, "Michael Geist points out that the leaks demonstrate that ACTA would create a Global DMCA and move toward a three-strikes-and-you're-out system. While the US has claimed that ACTA won't establish a mandatory three strikes system, it specifically uses three-strikes as its model."

Re:Why isn't China a Partner?

[Gorkamecha]

Wait, I thought Canadians were the biggest pirates on the planet? (http://www.variety.com/article/VR1117939142.html?categoryid=19&cs=1&nid=2570)

Re:Doesn't matter

[betterunixthanunix]

I could not agree more, but what bothers me the most is the absolute apathy most people seem to have. Most people are not just unaware of what is happening, but they do not care at all even after they are told -- and that is when they bother to listen at all. People just do not care about these issues, so long as they can see the latest celebrity scandal or play with some new high tech toys.

Re:Why isn't China a Partner?

[TheNarrator]

Because the Chinese don't think Europe and the Anglo-Americans run the world. Seriously, whenever you hear the word "global" or "international" that really means Europe (Specifically the EU leaders), the Anglo Countries (spearheaded by British and American think tanks), any third world countries they can bribe or intimidate into going along with them and NOT China or Russia (and occasionally Brazil and India will opt out too).

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[account_deleted]

Comment removed based on user account deletion

Re:So, what can we (US Citizens) do to stop this?

[slashqwerty]

In the United States a treaty has to be signed by the President and approved by two thirds of the Senate. So you can:

1. Convince the President not to sign it (he has been pushing for this treaty and has to sign it in order to repay his very favorable media coverage during the election).
2. Convince 34 senators to vote against it (they will be crucified by the media if they do so). They will likely need to vote against it every year until the deadline runs out.
3. Convince two thirds of the states to hold a constitutional convention to fix copyright law. Hope they come up a with a fair constitutional amendment. Then convince three fourths of the states to ratify it.

Re:So, what can we (US Citizens) do to stop this?

[Culture20]

In the United States a treaty has to be signed by the President and approved by two thirds of the Senate.

Unless the President is negotiating it as an executive agreement, then it's just the President. So you can:
1. Convince the President not to sign it (he has been pushing for this treaty and has to sign it in order to repay his very favorable media coverage during the election and his political connections with Biden et al).

Re:Canadian solution

[introspekt.i]

The RIAA and the IFPI is now an international organization that throws its weight around everywhere, not just the US. Would you say a company like Sony-BMG is an American one? This is not an American problem. It's easy to scapegoat Americans, but perhaps this is an issue that deserves more thought.

Re:This is a MUCH bigger threat than terrorism.

[Ltap]

Just remember - Captain Obvious is never a villain. So, no matter how often he shows up, he always helps.

Re:Not sure it's even good for them.

[dcollins]

Amusingly, in the past when I've sent similar letters to representatives in Congress, I get an automated letter back to wit, "Mr. Software Professional, we hear how important copyrights are to you, and we're doing everything we can to strengthen them and enforce them as stringently as possible..., etc., etc."

Re:So, what can we (US Citizens) do to stop this?

[ArsenneLupin]

4. Get a gun, and take it to ACTA's head quarters. That's what the Second Amendment is for. As others have said, ACTA is high treason, and needs to be dealt with as such.

Re:This is a MUCH bigger threat than terrorism.

[Genda]

Excuse me, that wasn't the terrorists... Hundreds of thousands of Americans protested in streets all over the nation, demanding Washington stop the action, think out a logic plan of response, and deal with a small group of criminals, who represented a small but violent organization, responsible for blowing up a group of buildings and killing several thousand people, in one city, in one state in this country. Instead, our government, and corporate friends of that government, saw this as an opportunity to whip the nation into a frenzy, shake a scary, scary Iraqi scarcrow at all of us, and go "booga, booga, booga!!!" The majority of good Americans, who have been trained since Kindergarten to trust and obey their government without so much as a single contemplative neuron firing, swallowed the WMD swill provided them without so much as a proper belch, and did as they were told. While these cynical, evil men sold out their country, the world at large, and for all intents and purposes, the foreseeable future. The mess we see today is that aftermath of the party these pigs had at our expense.

Tonight on 60 Minutes, there was a story, about a planes being flown by Blackwater. The planes flown by Blackwater had developed a reputation for being piloted by folks who were carelessness, reckless, unprofessional, and dangerously under-skilled. One of these planes crashed into a mountain in Afghanistan. A witness, mentioned that while speaking with the CEO of the company, the man in charge was utterly dumbfounded... he said "Did you listen to the black box recorder? The idiot flight crew was screwing around, joking about TV shows, then WHAM, flew straight into a mountain." The widow of an Officer being transported and who died in the crash, began proceedings to sue Blackwater... Blackwater never even said we're sorry. Whoops, it seems we screwed the pooch??? What they did do, was tell her, "Because we're contracted by the government, we are the government, therefore you can't sue us." Then they said "Since the accident happened in Afghanistan, you have to deal with us under Afghani law (which states business owners can't be held liable for gross negligence.) Then finally they said "There is no evidence that we did anything wrong, and in fact it was the Army Officer on the plane who was responsible for the crash... he must have done something to precipitate the disaster." Since then there have been more incidents of near disasters, and just this week, the Army awarded Blackwater with new and extended flight contracts. If this doesn't tell you the whole damn thing sucks like a Dyson Upright Vacuum, you are heavily medicated, or have serious perceptual limitations.