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Tuesday, February 7, 2012

They're doing it again! Grabbing the internet!

UPDATE: ACTA isn't the only threat. Obama, who chafes under the idea of following laws he didn't write, isn't the only one who wants to impose more rules on the internet. Harry Reid is introducing another bill which will be, supposedly, for cybersecurity. Daily Caller:
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, following a recent anti-piracy legislative debacle with SOPA and PIPA, will lead his second effort of 2012 to push Internet-regulating legislation, this time in the form of a new cybersecurity bill. The expected bill is the latest attempt by the Democrats to broadly expand the authority of executive branch agencies over the Internet. 
Details about the bill remain shrouded in secrecy. Clues available to the public suggest that the bill might be stronger than President Barack Obama’s cybersecurity proposal, which was released in May 2011.
  And about ACTA: 
  Just when the public thinks they beat back the internet censor reptiles, another ugly government snake reveals its presence in the room.
  This one's called ACTA and, according to some experts, it's worse than SOPA and its ilk.
  What is ACTA?
  Under the name of "copyright protection," governments worldwide are attempting to grab hold of the internet. They will be able to shut down websites and require ISPs to monitor all activities on their cables. The hour is late; many countries have signed the treaty already.
  Talk of the treaty began under Bush but has accelerated greatly under Obama, whose enthusiasm for controlling Americans' lives seems unabated by public protest.
  We've already signed this treaty, which initially required Senate approval but now Obama has decided it is his right to issue it as an executive order. 
  IOW, once again he is creating a royal exception for himself as sole "ruler" of this country.
  All of this has been done in secrecy; many elements of the agreement remain unknown until the law is passed and we get to see what's in it.
  What's the purported purpose of ACTA? From Wikipedia:
The agreement aims to establish an international legal framework for targeting counterfeit goods, generic medicines and copyright infringement on the Internet, and would create a new governing body outside existing forums, such as the World Trade Organization, theWorld Intellectual Property Organization, or the United Nations.[4][5][6]
  Forbes says much of the final language has been watered down but, since those outside government aren't allowed to see it (an ominous sign), no one really knows:
ACTA has been signed as a sole executive agreement, meaning the president’s signature on this is all it takes for it to become law, though Sen. Ron Wydenhas questioned the constitutionality of that move on the part of the administration. 
Cory Doctorow describes the agreement as “a secretly negotiated copyright treaty that obliges its signatories to take on many of the worst features of SOPA and PIPA. The EU is nearing ratification of it. ACTA was instigated by US trade reps under the Bush Administration, who devised and enforced its unique secrecy regime, but the Obama administration enthusiastically pursued it.” 
  The Electronic Frontier Foundation, a donor funded non profit digital rights watchdog, is highly critical of ACTA:
Negotiated in secret, ACTA bypassed checks and balances of existing international IP norm-setting bodies, without any meaningful input from national parliaments, policymakers, or their citizens. Worse still, the agreement creates a new global institution, an "ACTA Committee" to oversee its implementation and interpretation that will be made up of unelected members with no legal obligation to be transparent in their proceedings. Both in substance and in process, ACTA embodies an outdated top-down, arbitrary approach to government that is out of step with modern notions of participatory democracy.
  The EFF says it's up to US to fight this additional encroachment on our liberties, both here and globally:
It is now up to the collective will of the public to decide what to do next, and for individuals to ask themselves what they want their government to look like. Do you believe in democracy? Do you believe that laws should be made to reflect our collective best interests, formulated through an open transparent process? One that allows everyone, from experts to civil society members, to analyze, question and probe an agreement that will lead to laws that will impact potentially billions of lives? If we don’t do anything now, this agreement is going to crawl itself into power. With the future at stake like this, it’s never too late to fight.
  This is just another action by the New Liberals. They're not your classic liberals from the past; in fact, they're out to bend your behavior to meet their own desires. 
  Indeed this law will not only restrict free speech and shut down websites and blogs, it will affect commerce, politics and public behavior on the internet.
  Watch this video by the hackers' group Anonymous and be afraid.
  Be very afraid.
  But ACT on ACTA. Petition here.

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