And You Thought PIPA/SOPA Threatened The Internet?

Prior to the proposed legislation of the Senate's PIPA (Protect IP Act of 2011) and House of Representatives' SOPA (Stop Online Piracy Act), an international effort to enforce Intellectual Property (IP) rights, known as ACTA (Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement), was already in the works. Though PIPA and SOPA were both left to languish as a result of negative response from the IT user community, ACTA remains alive and well.

Public scrutiny over the extent and regulations of both PIPA and SOPA thwarted congressional approval of either act. However, the ACTA effort is not subject to such openness. Negotiations for its enactment continue behind closed doors. With minimal industry or user input allowed, representatives from major industrialized nations continue to negotiate the terms of ACTA. Based upon leaked copies of drafts, the combination of broader controls and even more vague wording will compromise the First Amendment on the internet and erode privacy concerns far beyond the scope of PIPA and SOPA. Even worse, there is almost a complete lack of checks and balances included in ACTA.

As a Forbes article noted, "According to critics, ACTA bypasses the sovereign laws of participating nations, forcing ISP's across the globe to act as internet police." The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) warned, "These initiatives, negotiated without participation from civil society or the public, are an affront to a democratic world order."

On an even more disturbing note, President Obama signed an Executive Agreement in October 2011 committing our adherence to the final agreement, irrespective of questions regarding his constitutional authority to circumvent both Congress and the American people in the matter of copyright and patent laws. Obama maintains that ACTA is an agreement, not a treaty, thus allowing him to submit the U.S. to international regulation despite its authority to trump local, state, and federal laws.

Most members of the IT community adamantly oppose ACTA. Even groups who supported either PIPA or SOPA now object to ACTA. Public awareness of ACTA with its concealed content, invasiveness, and potential ramifications, must be heightened. Spread the word! Time is short!

For more information:

Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF)
Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement
What is ACTA?
https://www.eff.org/issues/acta

Digital Civil Rights in Europe (EDRI)
Stop ACTA! (English)
http://www.edri.org/stopacta

. . .

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