Stop Celebrating SOPA+PIPA Demise: Stop ACTA!

Not worried about SOPA and PIPA (for now)? Good. Me either. But — we’ve still got concerns…

If you thought everyone on the Internet could now sit back, relax, continuing to bask in the successful demise of SOPA and PIPA (as we knew them), think again. Another similar effort to control the Internet, paired with the underlying premise of protecting personal intellectual privacy has been officially in progress since 2008, and its reach is growing.

International in scope, its tentacles are more far-reaching than SOPA or PIPA ever dreamed of being (initially, as far as we know, anyway). Known as ACTA (Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement), an international trade agreement currently negotiated by the European Union, United States, Japan, Canada, South Korea, Australia, with a growing list of countries. Similar to the premise of SOPA and PIPA, it was established to enforce copyright issues, and address counterfeited goods, implemented on an global basis through established international standards.

Once again, this is not a political issue, and the United States government participation reaches across the aisle, with both the Bush and Obama administrations’ involvement. In fact, according to research on ACTA, it appears both administrations have chosen to maintain our country’s involvement as “secret” for all these years, citing potential national security risk, if known.

ACTA is so secret in fact, that negotiations have been done undercover, inadvertently outed by some minimal document or detail leakage. Because of the leaks, we do know regulations are being drawn up to be instituted in countries choosing to participate. According to my research, it appears many of the players behind ACTA, and consulted in devising regulations, are similar to those parties who supported SOPA and PIPA.

If you would like to know more about ACTA, here is an informational video:

If you would like to know more about ACTA, visit: Stop ACTA Site, by clicking here

While many in the United States (I’m guessing) are relatively unfamiliar with ACTA, a “blackout” with Polish websites going dark to protest ACTA is planned, at the time of my writing. Click here to see ABC News report

NOTE: I do not view this issue as political in nature. I see it as related to the issue of free speech and freedom of expression. It is a strikingly similar scenario to SOPA and PIPA, however with more far-reaching implications in scope, due to the global involvement and support.

If you Google “ACTA” you will find breadcrumbs I discovered in my research for this story. All efforts have been made to fully research and present the known information surrounding this issue.

Further, I don’t quite understand the “Stop ACTA” logo, and not sure if that is to be a parody, or a play on the intellectual property issue. My opinion doesn’t really matter, except I do want to go on the record saying I don’t think that visual representation helps the cause or the case. (Exercising my free speech…)

As predicted in my “Top 10 Social Media Watch List” for 2012, ACTA is further evidence of the developing global culture. For sure everyone is affected by such mandates. Through connections made, information communicated and shared, we can help to protect the fundamental rights of freedom of expression and free speech.

Expect to hear more about ACTA.