Thursday, January 26, 2012

Blog 2: ACTA

In the past few weeks the US had proposed bills known as SOPA and PIPA. Both were trying to stop piracy and regulate things nongovernmental. This was just a national issue on freedom of press and expression. Now the globe faces a even harsher threat known as ACTA, or the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement. What ACTA aims to do is to make an international law on piracy, however; those who have studied the new law say that ACTA is more about taking away freedom of expression. Governments looking to possibly sign this treaty have seen their .gov websites either hacked or shut down. Thursday in Poland saw its young citizens protest. With the crowds of people seeking to "keep internet free", Polish government have assured its citizens that they would have ample time to discuss their opinions on the bill. On Thursday January 26th, 2012, Finland, France, Ireland, Italy, Portugal, Romania, Greece, and Poland signed the treaty. They join the US, Australia, Canada, Japan, Morocco, New Zealand, Singapore and South Korea who all signed this last year. 


(Polish politicians protesting ACTA, Photo Credit )


I personally believe that the internet is the only place left for freedom of expression. Other things such as major news organizations are very biased in what they publish. Also for many countries abroad the government already censors their internet. This bill will only increase what people can view. The US already has seen several major websites shut down do to the bill such as limewire, 4shared, and megaupload to name a few. Also what many people don't realize is that ACTA isn't something that is being discussed with politically appointed people. Everything is behind closed doors and governments sign it into law.



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