ACTA – SOPA & PIPA's Evil Unstoppable Child!

ACTA, the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement, is a controversial proposal to be negotiated between the EU, U.S., Japan, Switzerland and others. The proposal provides for stringent action against copyright infringement. In other words the exact same thing as SOPA & PIPA, but this thing we cant stop, also it DOES CONCERN EUROPE AND THE REST OF THE WORLD!

Negotiations have taken place in secret, without democratic accountability. The countries involved have admitted that ACTA exists but has refused to disclose what the proposal entails. A human rights activist in Canada who were trying to retrieve documents related to ACTA documents received with only the title and all text censored. Because ACTA is not related to countries’ security, one can only speculate as to why you do it like that. Presumably you understood how unpopular the proposal would be because it is very much affects human freedom, and therefore did not wish that there would be no debate or opposition to it.

A document entitled Discussion Paper on a Possible Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement was sent out to lobbyists from the media industry which was later leaked to Wikileaks. A recent paper entitled ACTA Negotiations brief on Border Measures and Civil Enforcement 2008, a briefing before the ACTA negotiations in late July 2008, leaked also to Wikileaks. Had it not been for these documents leaked so had very little was known about ACTA. The media industry has apparently been involved in ACTA from the beginning. In Canada, for example, the government has gathered a group of media industry to provide advice regarding the ACTA.

From the American side is driven proposal by a small group of Congress members who are all great recipients of the media industry. The ACTA is finished, it is intended that the document is “locked” so that the points is not possible to renegotiate, for example, other countries invited to participate.

After consulting the Nutrition Committee of the Swedish Parliament took place, was declared the participation of professional secrecy.

While citizens of the world withheld information about ACTA, some U.S. companies had access to them, which is criticized by many.

The blogger scaber Nestor has tried to get the Swedish government to release documents on ACTA, with reference to the principle of public access. However, this has failed, the state has invoked a law that says that the discussions on international relations are not subject to open government.

When did the world want to become like North Korea?