Forum Post: Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA)

draft proposal from Patricia L,

Proposal to Denounce Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA)

We propose that the New York City General Assembly take a public stand against the ACTA, the secretly negotiated agreement that threatens privacy, civil liberties, innovation and the free flow of information on the internet.

The Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) is an international agreement negotiated by the United States, European Union, Japan, Canada, South Korea, Australia, Mexico, Morocco, Singapore and others with virtually no input from the public. ACTA negotiations have taken place behind closed doors, without disclosure of the details. Although the process was begun by the Bush administration, it was signed in 2011 under the Obama administration.

Certain provisions of the agreement appear quite similar to (perhaps even more expansive) those in SOPA, but the scope extends beyond the United States, into most of the developed countries of the world. The treaty applies to countries that aren't even involved in the negotiations. ACTA bypasses the sovereign laws of participating nations, forcing ISP's across the globe to act as internet police. It cracks down on the manufacture of generic drugs and enforces seed patents that threaten local farmers and food independence across the developed world.

We should all be worried about the implications of this and other trade agreements on the global economy, the ripple effects of which would reach all of us regardless of geographical location.

Several aspects of ACTA raise concerns for privacy, civil liberties, for innovation and the free flow of information on the internet. ACTA spans virtually all of the developed world, threatening the freedom of the internet as well as access to medication and food. ACTA contains global IP provisions as restrictive or worse than anything contained in SOPA and PIPA. ACTA could allow rights-holders to obtain private data regarding the users of Internet service providers, without a decision of a judge. This is a dangerous breach to privacy.The article is non-binding (using the "may" verb). ACTA was written and hammered out behind closed doors. While some of the provisions have been taken out of the final US draft, plenty of unknowns still exist. It’s not nearly clear enough how the agreement will affect US laws.

Final, legally verified Agreement: http://www.dfat.gov.au/trade/acta/Final-ACTA-text-following-legal-verification.pdf