copyright treaty leaks. It's bad. Very bad.

[Bluetune]

http://www.boingboing.net/2009/11/03/secret-copyright-tre.html


Cory Doctorow

POSTED AT 2:13 PM November 3, 2009

Action • Copyfight • International • politics

Secret copyright treaty leaks. It's bad. Very bad.

The internet chapter of the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement, a secret copyright treaty whose text Obama's administration refused to disclose due to "national security" concerns, has leaked. It's bad. It says:

* * That ISPs have to proactively police copyright on user-contributed material. This means that it will be impossible to run a service like Flickr or YouTube or Blogger, since hiring enough lawyers to ensure that the mountain of material uploaded every second isn't infringing will exceed any hope of profitability.

* * That ISPs have to cut off the Internet access of accused copyright infringers or face liability. This means that your entire family could be denied to the internet -- and hence to civic participation, health information, education, communications, and their means of earning a living -- if one member is accused of copyright infringement, without access to a trial or counsel.

* * That the whole world must adopt US-style "notice-and-takedown" rules that require ISPs to remove any material that is accused -- again, without evidence or trial -- of infringing copyright. This has proved a disaster in the US and other countries, where it provides an easy means of censoring material, just by accusing it of infringing copyright.

* * Mandatory prohibitions on breaking DRM, even if doing so for a lawful purpose (e.g., to make a work available to disabled people; for archival preservation; because you own the copyrighted work that is locked up with DRM)

The ACTA Internet Chapter: Putting the Pieces Together
http://www.michaelgeist.ca/content/view/4510/125/
Next: More on secret copyright treaty: your kids could go to jail for noncommercial music sharing
http://www.boingboing.net/2009/11/04/more-on-secret-copyr.html

[AsteriskRocks]

If this...passes...chaos will ensue.

[Bluetune]

Yeah this treaty would definitely cause an internet version of the underground railroad.

[OverMind]

A treaty is only as effective as the countries that sign it.

I trust my government to do the right thing, and give the American initiative a shrug just as the Americans have done for:

- the Kyoto Protocol (addresses Global Warming)
- the Ottawa Treaty (addresses the manufacture of anti-personnel mines)
- adopting the Metric System

[musigal]

I agree with a comment posted under the article. we need to contact our representatives and congressman. treaties must be ratified by congress to be binding for America, even if the president signs it. if we keep it from passing congress it will be thwarted. (ex treaty of versailles)
also, find whoever the elected officials are who came up with this idea and get rid of them (ie vote someone else into office as soon as we can); they'll do more stuff like this in the future.

[Spoofs3]

I am sure that my favourite government, The EU government, will solve this.
The propsed treaty is going against what Europe has already claimed must not happen.

The Commission appears to be opening up ISPs to third party liability, even though the European Parliament has expressly said this mustn't happen," McNamee said, adding that ACTA looks likely to erode European citizens' civil liberties.

Source (http://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2009/11/leaked-acta-internet-provisions-three-strikes-and-)

I - for one - refuse to accept any decisions made by this as intellegent or liberal and full of free speech.
It's just another way for super-powers to police the world and with me living in a small country, I have no say in such a treaty as NOBODY LISTENS TO SMALL COUNTRIES.
And this by the way is just another strike agains the Obama Administration (And whatever party is in power in Japan) For creating it and allowing it to come this far.

[Fat1Fared]

I am sure that my favourite government, The EU government, will solve this.
The propsed treaty is going against what Europe has already claimed must not happen.

Source (http://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2009/11/leaked-acta-internet-provisions-three-strikes-and-)

I - for one - refuse to accept any decisions made by this as intellegent or liberal and full of free speech.
It's just another way for super-powers to police the world and with me living in a small country, I have no say in such a treaty as NOBODY LISTENS TO SMALL COUNTRIES.
And this by the way is just another strike agains the Obama Administration (And whatever party is in power in Japan) For creating it and allowing it to come this far.

well, for a county which has done so well out of EU, saying Ireland has no voice is strange comment, I mean you have got more from it than almost any other county and you, even almost crushed the Lisbon Treaty and forced the whole EU to basically bride you into signing it, which is amazing, just shame it still got signed, ^_^ (though this mainly because you have leaders who actually have little conviction and courage, rather weak will sychotants,)

I know it only seems like, I dislike the EU because I'm english and therefore dislike any united force as have unnatural paraiondra against them, but that isn't true, I just dislike the way they structured it, with its lack of accountability to it law making members and the electuate AKA us, have basically no voice in it and do you really trust a group which thinks men like David Milliband and Lord Mandalson are good people, :frown:
=And this actually shows what I mean, as though Parliament is against it, the parliaments power is only presiaive while the Commission has law making power, so if the Commission want this, then they will just ignore the Parliament, as always do

-As for this, it isn't to do with superpowers, this is more to do with Ecomonic powers (and there is difference) notice how countries which have massive techo, product out-put, are ones for this, its because this is what cuts their incomes massively

=But to be honest this is nothing to fear, as well as many of the companies it is meant to protect, are against it, as fear what could do to their own business, and the "think tankers" behind it, have actually said it won't work, as simply unpractical and finally it is a treaty, therefore as overmind said, it is only as strong countries which sign it and great thing about the internet is, that the laws governing it only apply from source, not the receiver and so this means, that internet companies will do what already do to get past annoying laws like this and set up base in Neo-Free lands like Swedian, which will never sign up to this, and so as running their base's is outside treaty, so is, their "illegal" information being held, meaning the laws cannot touch it. Though some like U-tube...etc may be lost, many with brain will do just do this and undermine the whole thing

[RexNotCaesar]

Gah, no!

My ISP actually suspended my entire neighborhood's access to the Internet for about a day, a while ago. If they have to suspend a whole neighborhood to block one computer... bleh.

[OverMind]

Gah, no!

My ISP actually suspended my entire neighborhood's access to the Internet for about a day, a while ago. If they have to suspend a whole neighborhood to block one computer... bleh.

Ouch.

Are there any alternative ISPs in your area?

[RexNotCaesar]

Well, there's Clear (formerly known as Clearwire), but I've had bad experiences with them (worse than this :P). That's the problem with small towns.

I have a feeling that they won't do that again, though. It seems that they were flooded to their ears with complaints.