SOPA and PIPA have been shelved, however, the government’s plan to censor the public is an ongoing threat. It’s disconcerting that each government is initiating censorship tactics spontaneously while attacking our fundamental rights.
Have you met the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement aka: ACTA? — an international trade agreement negotiated by the EU, the United States, Japan, Canada, South Korea, Australia, among others whose supposed sole purpose is to forge ahead with tackling counterfeited goods and copyright infringement.
This treaty is SOPA and PIPA on steroids globally censoring the public world wide. They are allowed to negotiate in secret and force other countries into implementing file sharing policies with a 3 strikes you’re out practice while net filtering. Opponents are critical saying ACTA’s removal of “legal safeguards that protect Internet Service Providers from liability for the actions of their subscribers” in effect giving ISPs no option but to comply with privacy invasions. Sound familiar so far?
ACTA explained. Watch:
Further more, existing ISPs may no longer host free software that can access copyrighted media, and DRM protected media would not be legally playable with free software.
From StopACTA.info:
We are in danger of ending up with the worst of both worlds, pushing IP rules, which are very effective at stopping access to life-saving drugs but are very bad at stopping or preventing fake drugs.
(Michelle Childs of Médecins Sans Frontières, Nobel Peace Prize winners, issued this very critical statement on ACTA.)
While we’re protesting SOPA and PIPA’s bills, ACTA is already in place about to be passed. Poland announced that they will sign on January 26, 2012 despite recent dissent from Polish citizens.
Anonymous replied:
Dear Polish government, we will continue to disrupt and interfere with your government official websites until the 26th. Do not pass ACTA.
In addition, the activist group has delcared that they will release documents on officials in Poland if this censorship treaty is signed.
We have dox files and leaked documentations on many Poland officials, if ACTA is passed, we will release these documents.
The need to provide medicine to the poor will be at risk. The love for intellectual property is put above our freedom of speech on the Internet. One question; how far will the powers that be take monitoring the Internet? This inhibits our freedom of expression – not to mention that intellectual property rights should not be paid by infringing upon the World’s rights.
Global surveillance of Internet activity is problematic to all of us.
Image: Your Anon News
Video H/T: my friend Jeff S with thanks.
