US citizens please protect our civil rights and intellectual freedom

D

Dave

Guest
http://www.petitiononline.com/stopatca/petition.html
http://www.fsf.org/campaigns/acta/acta-declaration
https://secure.eff.org/site/Advocacy?cmd=display&page=UserAction&id=451

I wrote about ACTA another place but I don't think very many people know what it is, so I am posting this here. The petitions above are very important. The United States is getting ready to enter into a treaty that will bypass Congress and go against the Constitution. This treaty will make it mandatory for your Internet Service Provider to keep tabs on your online activity, making private companies in effect government agencies.

Why should you care? Here's what ACTA will do.

* Require Internet service providers (ISPs) to disconnect individuals accused (not convicted) of repeated copyright infringement;
* Require ISPs to hand over their subscribers' identities to copyright owners without any due process or judicial oversight;
* Require ISPs to make potentially expensive modifications to their networks in an effort to prevent copyright infringement;
* Prohibit the U.S. Congress from reforming the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA), which makes it a crime to defeat copy protection even when making a copy is perfectly legal;
* Require all countries to implement DMCA-like laws for their own populations, without the benefit of fair use or other legal exceptions that provide a modicum of protection for speech;
* Threaten potential innovators with outrageous financial penalties for copyright infringement; and
* Criminalize even non-commercial uses of copyrighted materials.

It's pretty easy to sign the petitions in the above links. Please act now.
Thank you.
 
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