Is ACTA going to pass?

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[smurfORnot]

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

from what I read,it's like it was almost secretly signed by EU country's some days ago,and from what says on wiki,only 6 states need to ratification it.

After watching some discussion about it,I am quite concerned about what all it enables them to do.

Border searches

Potential border searches are covered by the "Border Measures" proposal of ACTA. As of February 2009, and according to University of Ottawa law professor Michael Geist, there is significant disagreement among countries on this topic: "Some countries are seeking the minimum rules, the removal of certain clauses, and a specific provision to put to rest fears of iPod searching customs officials by excluding personal baggage that contains goods of a non-commercial nature. The U.S. is pushing for broad provisions that cover import, export, and in-transit shipments."[64] Newspapers reported that the draft agreement would empower security officials at airports and other international borders to conduct random ex officio searches of laptops, MP3 players, and cellular phones for illegally downloaded or "ripped" music and movies. Travellers with infringing content would be subject to a fine and may have their devices confiscated or destroyed.[5][65]

and much much more.

[Scotzmen]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LVqFY-TP54o&feature=related

[Unkn0wn]

Still has to be 'ratified' by the EU parliament, which at this point is still uncertain. I've written a letter to my MEP about it, but he's already in the good guy camp. I think & hope we will see public dissatisfaction about ACTA rise in the run up to the vote in july. This should hopefully be enough to convince a majority of MEPs not to vote for this monster. If it isn't, then we're fucked.

I would advise you and other Europeans to do the same by the way, (s)he's your MEP so they can't just ignore your concerns.

[Unkn0wn]

Also, in terms of recent developmens:
The Social Democrats & Greens put forward a motion to 'amend' ACTA at the end of january, here are the results of that vote:http://www.votewatch.eu/cx_vote_details.php?id_act=1189&lang=en

This means a majority (Mainly Conservatives and the EPP, which is the largest group in the EP) is currently still IN FAVOUR of ACTA, though there's still several months to go before the real vote, which means there's plenty of time for the public to pressure their MEPs in saying no.

Poland has also stopped the ratification, more countries may follow
http://translate.googleusercontent.com/translate_c?hl=en&ie=UTF8&prev=_t&rurl=translate.google.com&sl=auto&tl=en&twu=1&u=http://www.bankier.pl/wiadomosc/Tusk-Zawieszamy-proces-ratyfikacji-ACTA-2481998.html&usg=ALkJrhiLVw9qIpthRyqAZzvr2ViIkwCNhA

[kwiatekkek]

[tank130]

Waaaiiiiiitttttt a second.

I thought you guys said that you can never believe anything you read on the Internet and all TV news if bullshit.

The way I see it on these forums is: If it looks like there is even a remotely miniscule chance of something limiting your so called freedoms, it is true and factual regardless of the source.

everything else is a lie!!!!!

[smurfORnot]

I guess you support ACTA tank,because it is obviously a good thing,right?  

You would do well in Nazi Germany,you could probably persuade jews that Adolf is actually doing all in their best interest. And that we are sending you to concentration camp for your own safety.

On a brighter side,with a bit of luck I might come to Canada in 'near' future to finish my college and visit some family I got there,so we can sit down and drink beer 

[nikomas]

For numerous reasons, nobody should ever be allowed to look trough someones laptop, unless you have good reason to suspect a crime...

Frankly, "Ripped" music does not count

[Scotzmen]

lol, even if they did check, there are numerous programs to hide folders and files etc.

[Demon767]

lol, even if they did check, there are numerous programs to hide folders and files etc.

yup, like renaming your folder from 'music' to 'photos'

[nikomas]

Well I think it's a problem, my folders are named after exactly whats in them... 

[Malgoroth]

Maybe I'm just out-of-the-loop... but how the fuck can they tell if the music on your mp3 player is "ripped" or not?

But whatever. Even the current supreme court in the US would find something like this unconstitutional as it constitutes an illegal search. To troll through someone's electronics requires a warrant. An act passed by congress wouldn't change that. It'd take an actual amendment (and good luck ever getting the states/congress to agree on passing one of those ever again).

[Sachaztan]

Maybe I'm just out-of-the-loop... but how the fuck can they tell if the music on your mp3 player is "ripped" or not?

But whatever. Even the current supreme court in the US would find something like this unconstitutional as it constitutes an illegal search. To troll through someone's electronics requires a warrant. An act passed by congress wouldn't change that. It'd take an actual amendment (and good luck ever getting the states/congress to agree on passing one of those ever again).

Yeah, just like the patriot act is unconstitutional.

Good thing that prevented the law from working ^^

[Vermillion_Hawk]

Yeah, just like the patriot act is unconstitutional.

Good thing that prevented the law from working ^^

Circumstance is what makes this different. The Patriot Act was allowed to pass because Americans were still reeling at the 9/11 attacks and needed something to make them feel secure. In this instance there isn't really anything comparable to a 9/11 disaster that would compell people to support ACTA, since I don't recall any incredibly high-profile, mass-hysteria-inducing cyberterrorist attacks occuring recently. Thus, public support for this bill wouldn't really be as fanatic as it would have been for the Patriot Act in the following months of 9/11. In fact, it would be quite the opposite.

[Sachaztan]

Circumstance is what makes this different. The Patriot Act was allowed to pass because Americans were still reeling at the 9/11 attacks and needed something to make them feel secure. In this instance there isn't really anything comparable to a 9/11 disaster that would compell people to support ACTA, since I don't recall any incredibly high-profile, mass-hysteria-inducing cyberterrorist attacks occuring recently. Thus, public support for this bill wouldn't really be as fanatic as it would have been for the Patriot Act in the following months of 9/11. In fact, it would be quite the opposite.

Still proves that things such as wether or not it's constitutional doesnt matter as long as they manage to pass it in the first place.

And ACTA has allready been passed by the USA...

[RikiRude]

I have been losing hope because I feel like they are just going to keep changing the name of this shit until it passes. next month it'll be another set of acronyms, but it'll all be the same shit.

[Vermillion_Hawk]

Well I wouldn't say this is "another incarnation" of SOPA and all the other alphabet soup bills, It's been around since October. What makes this agreement bad, though, is that citizens have little say in its ratification. It's an international thing, so it's not like SOPA where you can go protest in front of X legislature and be heard. Not to mention the fact that it would create a separate, international organization dedicated to enforcing the agreement. Things look grim but I have no doubt that in the event that the agreement comes into effect and they change anything major with the Internet, there will be some major shit going down.

[Unkn0wn]

It has to be ratified by national parliaments, so of course there's a place where you can go protest.

[Vermillion_Hawk]

I didn't intend for my post to be indictative that you CAN'T protest it, it would just be incredibly difficult to properly organize a protest that would shut down the bill considering your national parliament is only one of many international governing bodies that need to ratify this agreement. The fact that you need to go directly to the federal level to protest adds another layer of difficulty, and in total it's just not as easy to shut down as other pieces of legislation.