Blog 4

In a more recent European event; Germany has delayed signing the ACTA bill, or the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement. The country has delayed the signing to carry out more discussions of the bill and what it will entail for the country. Germany is following in the footsteps of Poland, the Czech Republic, and Slovakia. Poland was set to sign the bill several weeks ago but detained it on the last minute. All of the listed countries are experiencing protests against the bill. Those who have supported it have seen government websites attacked by a group known as anonymous. Supporters argue that the bill is necessary in order to crack down on piracy. 




Germany, Poland, the Czech Republic, and Slovakia are the few of many who have shown some type of resistance against the ACTA bill. Many other countries that have signed the bill aren't seeming to look in to it and see what it's really about. Many believe it to be a anti-piracy bill, but it actually is about copy right infringement. Any thing that is a copy. It could be as simple as sharing a recipe with a friend. The ACTA bill bans ANY for of copying regardless of where it came from. Those who are trying to get this bill revoked have a tough fight on their hands due to their governments poor understanding of what it is. According to ACTA law, something like a photo copy of the declaration of independence is now illegal. What this will do to is severally damage the spread of information to different people. According to the bill any type of shared information that was originally paid for can result in a fine, loss of said idea, or even jail time depending on what country you live in. The biggest example of this would be the owner of the Megaupload site. The site was recently shut down and he received fifty years in jail, as well as a large fine. This is an example of what is to come for those who want to share any type of information.




Germany's delay of ACTA