Ce inseamna ACTA
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We’re sorry but we are interrupting this program because
the big corporations cannot adapt their internet business
so then they do everything possible to control it.
Further we will discuss about ACTA, what is it
and why it is so important to oppose it. ACTA
or Anti Counterfeiting Trade Agreement
is a legislative initiative whose purpose is
to create unanimously accepted standards
at international level
in relation to protecting the intellectual
property.
It was signed for the first time
on 1st October 2011
by Australia, Canada, Japan,
Morocco, New Zealand, Singapore, South Korea
and United States of America.
Shortly, by ACTA
the signatory states want to stop
the production of counterfeit goods, generic medicines
and the distribution of pirated material on the internet.
Sounds relatively harmless, just content producers
wanting to defend their …content.
Well the situation is not so rosy.
Behind the good intentions hides a
desperate need
to have control over the free flow
of information
on the internet, which would be restricted
and punished
through various sanctions
There already are laws that protect copyrights
but for them they are insufficient
as long as they can’t gain enough from them
In fact, if this treaty will be ratified
In fact, if this treaty will be ratified in
the summer of this year then the internet
as we know it today will disappear for forever.
Let’s see how this affects you.
Firstly, according to ACTA all internet providers,
yes those guys whom you have your internet connection,
are forced to be like cops with their clients,
i.e. to monitor
and give reports about everything you do on the internet
make an evidence of the websites you access
and of the sharing you do, to detect any kind of piracy
In the moment they catch you, either
you lose access to the internet
either reached on the hands of
copyrights owners you get sued
risking fines of hundreds of thousand of dollars
and even 5 years of prison. Yes, 5 years of prison
for a lousy MP3 .Apart from that, if
you film yourself
at a party and on the background runs
an ordinary piece of music
and you from the desire to show the world that
you can drink 3 beers in 2 minutes with your nose
and upload the video on YouTube again
you risk the same sanctions
huge fines and prison years
for the usage of that music piece on the background
for which you don’t own copyrights.
Funny, yes?
But the sanctions go even further than that,
if you have pirated material on your
laptop, mobile phone, tablet
or any other device, in the moment when
you are at the border or in the airport
, according to ACTA the authorities
have the right
to verify the content of the device
and in case they find something wrong
they can destroy or seize the device
and also you get another “beautiful” fine.
And another thing, as we well know,
the internet is a place where you can express your discontent against
a political regime, right?! Well NO!
If ACTA
come into force , then we can say
“goodbye” to anti-government protests
and to videos in which citizens from everywhere
expose political fraud and corrupt politicians.
and this is because ACTA puts power
in the hands of political apparatus,
power which can reduce to silence
any type of this initiative. With ACTA
we can say “goodbye” to websites
as YouTube, Vimeo, Twitter , Facebook
and to the rights which we enjoyed
on the internet till now, the most
important being the right
of freedom of speech. In January 2012
Member States of the European Union,
including Romania, signed for this treaty
raising the numbers of signatory states to 31.
The Romanian representatives have signed without
bringing this to public attention. Romanians weren’t informed
about this decision, everything taking course
in a hidden manner,
away from the public and press. Also,
before some leaks, all discussions about
ACTA, starting with those from 2008,
were held behind closed doors, nobody
asked for the opinion of internet users,
our opinion,
the ones which ARE the internet.
The final decision on implementing ACTA
belongs to the European Parliament