Wednesday, January 25, 2012

Say no to ACTA

If you are scared and angry of SOPA AND PIPA, then guess what? We have another enemy,ACTA. The Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Act establishes international standards on intellectual property rights. It includes counterfeit goods, generic medicines, and copyright infringement on the Internet. ACTA would create a separate governing body outside of existing international organizations, including WTO (World Trade Organization), WIPO (World Intellectual Property Organization) and the UN (United Nations). It is proposed by Japan and is already signed last October 11, 2011 by the United States, Australia, Canada, Japan, Morocco, New Zealand, South Korea, and Singapore. The European Union, Mexico, and Switzerland did not sign but attended the meeting showing their support to ACTA. But it has been reported that EU will be signing on January 26. This was done in secret, and so some of us found out about this when drafts were leaked.
The shutdown of Megaupload is our taste of what ACTA can do to the Internet. It’s not only SOPA or PIPA that is going to break the internet, ACTA will be the endgame.

Five facts:
1. ACTA isn’t the “European” SOPA. It’s nearly GLOBAL, and will apply to every country that signs the treaty.
2. ACTA is far more aggressive. ACTA will not simply affect websites and have them blocked out of the internet – its measures go as far as surveillance of anything you share through private channels.
3. ACTA doesn’t have a campaign against it that is as wide-spread and organized as the SOPA one. This is DANGEROUS, as there’s less time between now and the final signing of ACTA.
4. ACTA has effects on healthcare, trade, and even tourism.
5. ACTA has to be stopped.

Say no to ACTA

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