I’m not saying that I’m a thief, but I may have borrowed a few songs from the Internet at times. Maybe I downloaded the finale of “Friends” because I don’t want the box-set, but I want to find out if any of them ever get killed off (spoiler alert, they don’t). And maybe I also got the entire works of Celine Dion because I like romantic showers but hate getting laughed at by the judgmental clerks at Best Buy.
The point is, there is an attempt to crack down on illegal file sharing that could harm our privacy, threaten us with fines and jail time and censor free speech and information across the Web. The Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement, or ACTA, is aimed at reducing illegal downloads of copyrighted materials, like movies and music. It was created in secret by 39 countries including the United States, Japan, South Korea and the European Union, and was negotiated between these countries instead of being shared with the public and voted on democratically.
Popular peer-to-peer file sharing sites MegaUpload and BTJunkie have shut down due to increased scrutiny and indictments of policy because some users shared copyrighted material through their websites. The ACTA bill gives the government the power to shut down websites that the entertainment industry claims violate their rules. Websites can be shut down for the content they host, the things they say and for user activity on their site.
More importantly, the act is a huge violation of individuals’ privacy. If you’ve ever deleted your history, then you admit there are things on the Internet you don’t want anyone to see, probably some things you want to un-see also. Well, ACTA requires Internet providers to send the government reports of your Internet use. How much you use it, what you say, where you say it, what you buy and watch. If you violate their laws, your access to the Internet will be shut down.
Here at Otterbein, they consider Internet theft to be a level-three violation, equal to that of an alcohol violation.
The freedom and anonymity that helped create the Internet could be lost, allowing the government to decide what information is distributed and who gets to see it. Internationally, doctors are concerned that provisions in the act will limit what medicine can be distributed to poor countries. The act also places limits on counterfeit medication that allows generic medications that resemble name-brand to be seized. This means that cheap medications given to poor countries could be taken unless they have the stamp of an expensive popular brand, allowing big pharmaceutical companies to make more money.
The good news is that you can do something about ACTA right now. You can go to www.stopacta.com for more information, but basically it comes down to contacting your representatives. It takes about five minutes, and some websites will even call or email them for you; you just need to put your name on it. When the similar act SOPA was in Congress last month, popular sites like Reddit, Wikipedia and WordPress blacked out to raise awareness for the dangers of censorship. Members of Congress received thousands of messages from people protesting the act, which was eventually defeated. Keep freedom of speech in the Internet, and keep the government out of your history tab.