Acta

[bgfan]

Acta is a "trade agreement" (note the quotes) that will make sharing over the internet illegal. This means no more kids singing songs on YouTube, no more gameplay videos of your favorite games, no more reposting images created by others (this would extend to forum avatars, as well), and no more free sharing of information. Under this law, it is technically a criminal offense to share any information gained over the web, even for something as simple as Tech support. This act would likely do a crazy amount of harm to free speech, while at the same time promoting ignorance and permitting mega-corporations to take advantage of people by overcharging for things that could before be found on YouTube. Acta will also make it mandatory for ISP's to monitor all activity that occurs within their clientele. This could very well bump up the price of a stable connection, as if it's not already expensive enough. Privacy will no longer exist over the internet, as everything somebody does and says will be recorded and used against him/her. This means that every porn site visited will be monitored by some stranger (did I mention this act may also introduce censorship, meaning that watching porn could get you in trouble?), every conversation will be recorded, and every site visited entered into a system. What's worse is that this agreement was actually originally hatched out without the knowledge being made public. I've got a few videos/sites (a few of them rather old) that explain this better than I do:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qlFyoEKV0dE

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=citzRjwk-sQ#!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9yxODWD_CCM

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anti-Counterfeiting_Trade_Agreement

https://www.eff.org/issues/acta

 

[Kobrag]

It would technically make storing scientific Journals illegal on the internet (and by default classify all universities as criminal enterprises) since all it is is information sharing.

I bet this was cooked up by some American.

 

[K-64]

Wasn't there a whole lot of stuff about this around a year ago? Stuff that was shortly thereafter disregarded as utter tripe

 

[Swadius 2.0]

Laws and regulations are only enforceable if the majority of the population it targets actually complies with it. It's unlikely that the rule would actually be enforceable if it takes place. Most of these laws don't actually target individuals doing it for personal reasons, they target people doing it for business ones, because for the former, it's not possible to enforce it in such a way that it would be meaningful to the individuals unless you're going to press criminal charges on such small civil incidents,but then the bill for doing so would far outweigh the benefits.

Take for example, any of the G20 countries. It is technically illegal to copy music to other devices in most of these countries, but nevertheless it is unenforceable. During the era where mixed tapes were available and knock off tapes on music were being sold, no one, or at least only a handful of them, who bought the tapes were charged. It's not like the police went car to car and checked if people had mixed and knock-off tapes in their glove compartments. They went after the people selling these tapes for money.

 

[Dryvus]

If this is some thing being pushed by asshat big businesses, it seems like it would hurt them more than it would help.

 

[Archonsod]

/facepalm

ACTA does not make anything illegal that isn't already illegal in the US, or for that matter most countries. All it does do is establish an international framework for co-operation on IP enforcement. In layman's terms, it simply closes the current loophole whereby you could upload a ****load of warez to a server in Sweden and avoid being prosecuted for it simply because the offence is not occurring in your country of residency.

So no, to take apart the bull****:

Acta is a "trade agreement" (note the quotes) that will make sharing over the internet illegal.

Nope.

This means no more kids singing songs on YouTube, no more gameplay videos of your favorite games, no more reposting images created by others (this would extend to forum avatars, as well), and no more free sharing of information.

Nope, unless of course said sharing violated copyright. The only one of those listed that might do that is reposting images created by others.

Acta will also make it mandatory for ISP's to monitor all activity that occurs within their clientele.

a) no it won't
b) it's already mandatory in the US and Europe under anti-terror legislation.

Privacy will no longer exist over the internet, as everything somebody does and says will be recorded and used against him/her.

Which changes how the internet functions how precisely?

This means that every porn site visited will be monitored by some stranger

Yup. Except they've been doing this ever since the introduction of tracking cookies. Welcome to 1996.

I've got a few videos/sites (a few of them rather old) that explain this better than I do:

Because reading the proposed act requires too much thinking?

 

[bgfan]

I'm just going off of what I've heard from pretty much every source. I'll admit that my information may not be entirely accurate, I merely repeated what i had heard like a parrot of sorts. Either way, it's kind of hard to say at this point considering that the U.S. government is refusing to release information about it.

 

[Papa Lazarou]

Even if it was supposed to make information sharing illegal, couldn't the creators of the content just put in a clause which allowed for certain kinds of sharing?

 

[MadocComadrin]

I bet this was cooked up by some American.

I'd place my bet on a central European country.

 

[Elisianthus]

I'm going right ahead and saying France, and suggesting immediate invasion across the channel.

 

[MadocComadrin]

I switch my bet to Kronic's.

 

[FrisianDude]

I'm saying it's definitely American, and suggesting immediate invasion across the ocean.

 

[MadocComadrin]

I'm saying it's definitely American, and suggesting immediate invasion across the ocean.

Says the guy from the country with a BREIN. 

But no, most definitely the French, seeing as they are one of the few countries with a government agency dedicated solely to anti-piracy.

 

[FrisianDude]

No, definitely American. Just check the linked wikipage.

Edit; HAHAHA PWNT.