Imminent ACTA threat

[Project .hack]

I call Zero Cool as a handle

or Cereal Killer...you know...as in fruit loops.

Awesome movie. Do I get a cookie?

Yeah, but you actually have to name the movie.

Hackers, very cool movie.

Yes, here's your cookie

 

[Rolling Thunder]

Excuse me America, I need to have a little talk with your President.....


I also need 600,000 AR-15s and five hundred tonnes of 5.56x45mm ammunition.

 

[paasi]

Basically, the US government is attempting to muscle through these trade agreements to severely limit freedom of speech and internet use.

There's one big problem here, which I think most of us can see.

Who's gonna police this? Can you tell which MP3's are illegal? What about your dad? Or your granddad?

Now add in all the people who are ready with the lawyers for the first person to even challenge them.

I don't think we need to worry until they get people who actually know something about piracy on their side.

As I understood it the agreement contains a clause which points that any service provider, site or such can be censored or shutdown for no greater a reason than being suspicious, by the internet police or some such agency appointed as the requlator.

 

[duckfi8]

I there no one who could do something?!

There may be some...it's a long shot but...it just might work.
http://images.publicradio.org/content/2007/10/30/20071030_angry_man_on_phone_18.jpg
Barbara! Get me...4chan!

o god you've called in the special forces

 

[AdamG3691]

Someone fetch the summoning circle, n00b hearts, /shaped candles, a mudkip, a mirror,and a piece of paper with the words "EMAG EHT" wrote on it.

I'm gonna attempt the /b/ summoning ritual

 

[TZer0]

Our class action would then be to encrypt everything we own with something rather not decrypt-able. No matter if it is illegal or not.

 

[jpoon]

I had heard about this a long while back. So it is actually happening? Damn, this pisses me off. Time to write my reps and senator to *****... again! These fucks will do anything to get their tongues deep in the asshole of corporations. Fuck them!

 

[Nickolai77]

So...this is some international anti-piracy and copyright leglislation that's being passed through the US government?

I don't know, but i think something very similar was passed through the EU parliment about a month ago which concerned piracy and copyright laws, it also gave governments power to order servers to disconnect users if they are found to be breaching copy right laws. The UK government also has passed a law that obliges service providers to store users internet browsing details for up to 6 months.

I guess the US wants to do what the EU has already done, and combine the two systems together.

And so the government creep ever deeper into the private lives of their citizens....

 

[manaman]

I heard about this; total bull. There is now way in hell anyone would let this become a true law.

America, which has a culture that embraces (or at least makes people believe they embrace) personal freedoms allowed the patriot act to pass. Horrible detestable piece of grabage that it is.

I criticize Obama for a number of things, but one of the most disappointing after he bashed the patriot act over and over again during his republicans=bad speeches while he was running for office. I really hoped that when he got into office he would overturn the patriot act, but all he has done is actually place people further under the yoke of big goverment. Seeing how he is in favor of oppressive goverment, and goverment nanny I wouldn't put some of the things in that bill past him and his cabinet to be trying to push through.

However I do stand on the fence since most of it seems necessarily oppressive and to try to make such a grand leap from near total freedom to... that, is just crazy. They would be taking baby steps with that being an end goal.

 

[The_root_of_all_evil]

As I understood it the agreement contains a clause which points that any service provider, site or such can be censored or shutdown for no greater a reason than being suspicious, by the internet police or some such agency appointed as the requlator.

And the first time they try to do that to someone as big as BT or Mama Bell (? Not sure on my Americanisms); there's gonna be an epic shit-storm. I think I'd rather face them with the news of "Yes, we're banning alcohol".

 

[Dark Prophet]

Well fuck, wank, bugger, shitting arse, head and hole. Wheter true or not this must not come to pass. Pirating movies: so ppl download for free, it's not like millions of ppl don't go to cinemas and buy original dvd copies or whatnot, games: well boo hoo, if the games actualy worth it i'l buy the original eg Brainpipe, it's only 17.9mb large , no fancy pansy shooter, rts or anything but truly a experience, if was in sale where i am i'd buy, as for music, well for some bands it's the only possible way to get out there, i've got plenty of music from bands that A LOT of ppl don't have a clue about and if theire cd's or(as mentioned before) whatnot were in sale worldwide i'd prolly buy.
SO screw anti-piracy laws, as they will eventualy start hampering at time being perfectly legal stuff

 

[AdamG3691]

whats the patriot act?

is that the law that makes people swear allegience to a FREAKING FLAG?

 

[paasi]

As I understood it the agreement contains a clause which points that any service provider, site or such can be censored or shutdown for no greater a reason than being suspicious, by the internet police or some such agency appointed as the requlator.

And the first time they try to do that to someone as big as BT or Mama Bell (? Not sure on my Americanisms); there's gonna be an epic shit-storm. I think I'd rather face them with the news of "Yes, we're banning alcohol".

You got that right. We are talking about something beyond epic, something like a shit-nova of a shitstar 2x the mass of Sun.
But that'd only concern us p2p users. Casual net-users and the "regular folk" will no doubt feel the matter as something that doesn't concern them. Entertainment industry CEOs shouting "ban piratist P2P networks! preserve my profits!" and "sharing is bad, piracy is crime" slogans are just about the only thing reaching their ears.
Second thing is net-user scepticism and unawareness. If everyone was behind one banner we could block off the sun with the amount of shit raining down.

 

[Bad Cluster]

If this goes through, all we have to do is stop buying any products affected by this new agreement for about a year, don't have to go out and start shootin'. Show them who they are getting their money from.

Just an idea, don't look at me like that!

 

[Kollega]

Hey, people who actually live in the USA and can do something about this bullshit of a treaty! Don't just sit there - poke your Congress representatives! Organise protests! Or at the very least, spread the word! Very unfortunately, i don't really have a say in this question - ACTA is being pushed by US lobbyists, and i'm not US citizen. But those of you who are should at least inform your friends.

 

[Gethsemani_v1legacy]

It won't come to pass. And even if it does, there's no chance that they can monitor every internet-connection, MP3-player, laptop, 3G cellphone and all the other things that have access to the internet. Copyright-infringement is already illegal and pirating is an obvious breach of copyright. So if it is illegal, why aren't the lot of you getting your asses hauled to a holding cell while awaiting charges?

Besides, some of the points in ACTA stand in direct violation to laws in just about every country, the laws that regulate freedom of speech and freedom of information. Good luck in trying to pass a law that would allow the government (or any organ thereof) to routinely check the computers of average citizens just to stop piracy.
And even if they somehow did pass it, how can they prove I didn't buy that CD? Or own the movie? For that, they'd have to come home to me and demand that I show them the original packaging. Do you honestly think they have the resources for that?

The ACTA is a pipe-dream. Anyone who believes it might legislate in its current shape is obviously unaware of just how much of a dream it is. This is kind of like trying to kill bacteria with a sledgehammer. Doomed to failure.

 

[CD-R]

It won't come to pass. And even if it does, there's no chance that they can monitor every internet-connection, MP3-player, laptop, 3G cellphone and all the other things that have access to the internet. Copyright-infringement is already illegal and pirating is an obvious breach of copyright. So if it is illegal, why aren't the lot of you getting your asses hauled to a holding cell while awaiting charges?

Besides, some of the points in ACTA stand in direct violation to laws in just about every country, the laws that regulate freedom of speech and freedom of information. Good luck in trying to pass a law that would allow the government (or any organ thereof) to routinely check the computers of average citizens just to stop piracy.
And even if they somehow did pass it, how can they prove I didn't buy that CD? Or own the movie? For that, they'd have to come home to me and demand that I show them the original packaging. Do you honestly think they have the resources for that?

The ACTA is a pipe-dream. Anyone who believes it might legislate in its current shape is obviously unaware of just how much of a dream it is. This is kind of like trying to kill bacteria with a sledgehammer. Doomed to failure.

Still it certainly won't hurt to write your rep/ senator whatever to ensure it gets killed. Better safe than sorry.

 

[The_root_of_all_evil]

Casual net-users and the "regular folk" will no doubt feel the matter as something that doesn't concern them. Entertainment industry CEOs shouting "ban piratist P2P networks! preserve my profits!" and "sharing is bad, piracy is crime" slogans are just about the only thing reaching their ears.
Second thing is net-user scepticism and unawareness. If everyone was behind one banner we could block off the sun with the amount of shit raining down.

War on Drugs! Fail.
War on Terror! Fail.
War on Piracy.... can you see where this is going?

We've had so many wars on ideas that people are just warred out. What they will react to though is a price hike from the ISPs if this does come through, and we can rely on our Tabloid press to make the first
"PRIVACY PIRACY PERVERSION!" headline as soon as the idea of their information retrieval processes get waylaid.

See, the Tabloids are good for something other than breasts.

 

[Kimjira19]

http://wikileaks.org/wiki/European_Commission_%22advance_warning%22_summary_on_ACTA_Internet_Chapter%2C_30_Sep_2009

Basically, the US government is attempting to muscle through these trade agreements to severely limit freedom of speech and internet use.
These negotiations don't even have any consumer representatives participating and Obama denies their participation.

A few clauses from the "wish list":
* In all ACTA countries hefty fines act as intimidation in cases of developer rights violations

* Service providers are made responsible for their clients violations. They are released from responsibility ONLY by including in their service agreements some actively pre-emtive measures to which clients MUST agree to if they wish to have an internet connection.
This way Hollywood, RIAA and IFPI aquire an intimidation & penalty machination straight from their dreams, without national parliaments or the EU-parliament to need to pass a law for it.
Conveniently, this private police/penal system lacks all those inconvenient delays like; fair trial, security of the accuseds rights.

* All ACTA-countries take into use Digital Millenium Copyright Act -like system, with which all copyright holders may demand service providers to remove all copyright infringing materials from different websites and services.
This system is also very handy for censoring sites under baseless or questionable accusations.

* Bypassing DRM-protection will be criminalized, where it still is allowed, and manufacture and selling will be criminalized. Any sort of DRM-compatibility will not be required from the manufacurers in their systems.

* Customs officers will be given authority to search for copyright infringing materials from passengers mp3-players, cellphones and laptops


Looks like WW3 is about to start...
First there were the Germans and ostracising of the Jewish, then the Soviet Union and ostracising of the rich and now United States and ostracising of Internet users.

I there no one who could do something?!

EDIT: Note that this agreement would effect the US, Canada, EU, Japan, Australia, Switzerland and all other negotiation parties.

The ACTA was written in 2007. That would be a year before Obama was elected. So therefore, not his originally and I doubt that either he or Congress will even make a serious attempt to pass a law that would be so unpopular. Way too much political backlash.

 

[Kimjira19]

whats the patriot act?

is that the law that makes people swear allegience to a FREAKING FLAG?

"Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism Act" http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USA_PATRIOT_Act
It should never have been passed but at the time everyone was scared shitless and wanted to feel safer.