Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement

SpaceAdmiral writes "The Canadian government is secretly negotiating to join the US and the EU in an Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement. The agreement would give border guards the power to search iPods and cellphones for illegal downloads, as well as to force ISPs to hand over customer information without a warrant. David Fewer, staff counsel at the University of Ottawa's Canadian Internet Policy and Public Interest Clinic, characterizes ACTA this way: 'If Hollywood could order intellectual property laws for Christmas what would they look like? This is pretty close.'"

Comments

Economic Big Stick.

[Odder]

The third page of the article explains how the US is able to get away with such outrageous requests:

In a situation similar to what happened in the Softwood Lumber trade dispute, Canadians could face hefty penalties if it does not comply with ACTA after the agreement has been completed.In a situation similar to what happened in the Softwood Lumber trade dispute, Canadians could face hefty penalties if it does not comply with ACTA after the agreement has been completed.

So the proposal is, "surrender your citizens rights or we will make it cost you." The answer should be, "without rights, you will just take our money anyway, no thanks."

A few links.

[palegray.net]

Regarding the matter, some additional source material for consideration:

• Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement - Fact Sheet
• What is the Proposed Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA)?
• "ACTA" - a New Plurilateral Policy Platform

A couple of these links are several months old; this has been brewing for awhile, and action needs to be taken now to stop it.