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ACTA -- A Patriot Act For the Internet

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posted on Nov, 11 2009 @ 03:50 PM
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ACTA -- A Patriot Act For the Internet
James Love, Director, Knowledge Ecology International

This week 40 or so countries are meeting in South Korea to consider text for a new international agreement on the enforcement of intellectual property rights. It is called the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA). The term "counterfeiting" is designed to demonize the agreement critics as friends of organized crime, much like the name of the Patriot Act seemed better than the "Elimination of Civil Liberties Act." It is really an agreement that addresses a wide range of intellectual property enforcement issues -- involving patents, copyrights, trademarks and other IPR. (Details here) keionline.org...

If you are a lowly member of the public, the text is secret. The names of persons who attend the meetings are secret. The titles of the documents are secret. If you represent a big firm or law firm -- pretty much any big firm it seems, the U.S. government will show you documents after you sign a non-disclosure agreement - curbing your right to speak out on the contents of the documents you see.

Some details of the negotiation have leaked out, most recently from a memo by Euopean Union describing the Obama Administration proposal for a new global system of Internet controls and liabilities. Michael Geist, Gwen Hienz of EFF, and a few journalists -- most living outside of the U.S., have written about ACTA.

The entire U.S. tech sector has been publicly silent, as the Obama administration has co-oped them into trading silence for access to the secret documents.

At this point, Congress needs to stand up and put an end to this appalling spectacle of secret legislation on a global scale. How can politicians claim to be all for transparency, and allow this indefensible violation of the public right to know proceed?

A large number of organizations and people have written President Obama asking that he end the secrecy of the negotiation. It is doubtful this will happen unless newspapers write about the issue (aren't they big advocates of the right to know?), members of Congress weigh in, or if the critics of the secret negotiation can mobilize public opinion.

There is a lot at stake. Civil rights, privacy, rules for injunctions and damages against businesses and individuals, chilling of speech, the first sale doctrine, the global movement of medicines and other commodities, etc, will all be impacted by this ridiculously secret negotiation.

Earth to politicians -- you work for us, not the International Chamber of Commerce. Make this negotiation public!
James Love, Director, Knowledge Ecology International



Just like the Patriot Act, this is designed to look like they are protecting copy rights, when in fact they are trying to
A. Spy on everyone
B. Limit access
C. Invade privacy
D. Infringe on free speech
E. Control the single most important avenue for information gathering humanity has ever seen.

The internet has an abundance of crap on it, but it also is the last source of clear, unfiltered, unregulated truth that can be found in today's world. It allows people of like minds to come together. It allows the masses of sheeple to wake up to some issue that main stream media refuses to report on. Soon the "powers that be" are going to have to get their grip around it, or it will bring them all down. This is the first shot they are firing in the "War on the Free Internet". There are things you can do about it, and ironically, the internet is where you can currently go to find out what. So go now, gather, share, chat, and sign petitions!!! Engage in free speech. PROTECT OUR INTERNET! Fight for it, or it WILL go bye-bye.



posted on Nov, 11 2009 @ 03:58 PM
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just because someone says the governments are going to do your list of ABCDE...does not make it so. you would do well to provide some truth. there has been a 10 month continual stream of lies about what this democratic government is going to do, that i simply don't believe anything i hear coming from the right.



posted on Nov, 11 2009 @ 04:00 PM
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This is in no way related to the PATRIOT Act, other than those who are against it haven't read it either. How can anyone be against anything they have not read yet? Seems to me ACTA is simply trying to protect intellectual property. I imagine Windows 'spies' on users to a greater extent than ACTA and the PATRIOT Act do.



posted on Nov, 11 2009 @ 04:15 PM
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Lordy, lordy, lordy. are we going to have to regress back to our old HAM radios to get the truth?

The truth will always get out even in tough times.

Once our rights are really taken away, you will see action.

Today, in my state I can wear my pistol on my side and carry my long guns in my truck.

I can buy and sell goods. I can go from one coast to another without ever being stopped and showing papers if I abide the law.

That's just a few of the freedoms we now enjoy.

When our government tightens control on me and millions of other Americans, there will be hell to pay.

What a wonderful sight it will be when we see our military fighting UN troops that come on our soil to harm their fellow Americans. This time civilians will fight side by side with our great military.

I have faith in the American people.

The White House belongs to the American citizens. It can be taken back.



posted on Nov, 11 2009 @ 04:28 PM
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reply to post by 12GaugePermissionSlip
 




The internet has an abundance of crap on it, but it also is the last source of clear, unfiltered, unregulated truth that can be found in today's world. It allows people of like minds to come together. It allows the masses of sheeple to wake up to some issue that main stream media refuses to report on. Soon the "powers that be" are going to have to get their grip around it, or it will bring them all down.


That grip is probably coming sooner rather than later.

Over the next few years, we will be seeing TV sets that can access the web and do a number of little tricks to keep us amused. But as free roaming as a PC? Not even close.

We will be able to download movies to watch... but our abilities to make DVD copies will be all but gone. The downloading and storing of data of all kinds will be severely restricted. Most sets will have a built-in amount of memory that is overseen by a strict DRM program. No more click and save for still images and many texts. The blog... as we know it today, will be history as well.

The IPs will be able to regulate just exactly what we can watch and how much bandwidth we use... all while keeping us safe and controlled.

These days of the PC and the web will all be but a fond memory in another decade.



posted on Nov, 11 2009 @ 04:59 PM
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Originally posted by jimmyx
just because someone says the governments are going to do your list of ABCDE...does not make it so. you would do well to provide some truth. there has been a 10 month continual stream of lies about what this democratic government is going to do, that i simply don't believe anything i hear coming from the right.


jimmyx, I am a democrat and an Obama voter. So this thread is sooo not coming "from the right". Note the link I have that comes from a Huffington post blogger.
You want me to provide truth? Since this agreement isn't finalized, everything is speculation. Note the heading of this board, "General Conspiracies". I don't have time to school you on what a conspiracy is, go look it up.
However I will provide some more info on why I have taken this stance on this particular topic.

www.huffingtonpost.com...

www.democrats.com...

www.savetheinternet.com...

Wikipedia has this....en.wikipedia.org...
The Free Software Foundation argues that ACTA will create a culture of surveillance and suspicion.[17] Aaron Shaw [who is this?] argues that "ACTA would create unduly harsh legal standards that do not reflect contemporary principles of democratic government, free market exchange, or civil liberties. Even though the precise terms of ACTA remain undecided, the negotiants' preliminary documents reveal many troubling aspects of the proposed agreement." such as removing "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. Shaw further says that "[ACTA] would also facilitate privacy violations by trademark and copyright holders against private citizens suspected of infringement activities without any sort of legal due process".[32]

And "The leaked document includes a provision to force Internet Service Providers (ISPs) to provide information about suspected copyright infringers without a warrant,



posted on Nov, 11 2009 @ 05:56 PM
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Internet is the emerging new form of art and nobody can stop that.
They still don't get it.



posted on Nov, 11 2009 @ 06:18 PM
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Originally posted by dizziedame
I can go from one coast to another without ever being stopped and showing papers if I abide the law.


You sure about this?

Try driving in springdale pa as a white guy driving a black guy to work..

Lets just say it didn't work out to well for us..



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