Sopa the Second is a massive bill known as the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA). And ACTA is a hell of a lot worse. Suddenly, there is an international ban on generic drugs! So Tylenol would be able to stop Walgreens from making the same drug, even though the patent has expired. And only one brand of drugs means higher prices, of course. Even if the drug saves lives, it can be withheld. On top of that, it forces internet service providers to police their customers. Everything that you do on the internet would now be visible to internet service providers and the government. Copyrighted seeds would be disallowed. So if I'm a farmer, planting seeds, and one of them by random chance (wind pushing seeds around) is from Monsanto, I can't plant any seeds anymore. Now I'm completely dependent on Monsanto. Even worse than it is now.
Countries can join voluntarily. The European Union, Japan, America, Canada, and other nations plan on joining.
On top of that, developing nations were excluded from the discussions. So most of Africa had absolutely no say in this, a bill that could help shape their future.
The members of the World Trade Organization have raised concerns over trade problems caused by this bill.
Copies of the bill have been distributed only under non-disclosure agreements. These copies were given to Google, eBay, Intel, Dell, News Corporation. Sony Pictures, Time Warner, and Verizon.All pertinent information is "classified." The main source of information on ACTA is a leaked document. Of course, after early drafts were leaked, governments decided to put out an official copy.
About 10,000 people took to the streets in Poland to protest this. It'll be nice to see others follow their example.
ACTA circumvents the democratic process because the negotiators are members of only a select few countries, and they are not elected representatives.
ACTA needs to be stopped. Spread the world.
------------------------------------------------------------
"Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement | Electronic Frontier Foundation." Electronic Frontier
Foundation | Defending Your Rights in the Digital World. Web. 25 Jan. 2012.
<https://www.eff.org/issues/acta>.
"BBC News - Thousands March in Poland over Acta Internet Treaty." BBC - Homepage. 25 Jan.
2012. Web. 25 Jan. 2012. <http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-16735219>.
Gee, Sue. "SOPA and PIPA Shelved But Is ACTA Unstoppable" I Programmer - Programming,
Reviews and Projects. 22 Jan. 2012. Web. 25 Jan. 2012.
<http://www.i-programmer.info/news/81-web-general/3649-sopa-and-pipa-shelved-but-is-acta-
unstoppable.html>.
Rose, Michael. "OpEdNews - Article: Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) Removes Any
Need for SOPA or PIPA. It's WORSE." Opednews.com Progressive, Liberal United States and
International News, Opinion, Op-Eds and Politics. 24 Jan. 2012. Web. 25 Jan. 2012.
<http://www.opednews.com/articles/Anti-Counterfeiting-Trade-by-Michael-Rose-120123-
260.html>.
Countries can join voluntarily. The European Union, Japan, America, Canada, and other nations plan on joining.
On top of that, developing nations were excluded from the discussions. So most of Africa had absolutely no say in this, a bill that could help shape their future.
The members of the World Trade Organization have raised concerns over trade problems caused by this bill.
Copies of the bill have been distributed only under non-disclosure agreements. These copies were given to Google, eBay, Intel, Dell, News Corporation. Sony Pictures, Time Warner, and Verizon.All pertinent information is "classified." The main source of information on ACTA is a leaked document. Of course, after early drafts were leaked, governments decided to put out an official copy.
About 10,000 people took to the streets in Poland to protest this. It'll be nice to see others follow their example.
ACTA circumvents the democratic process because the negotiators are members of only a select few countries, and they are not elected representatives.
ACTA needs to be stopped. Spread the world.
------------------------------------------------------------
"Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement | Electronic Frontier Foundation." Electronic Frontier
Foundation | Defending Your Rights in the Digital World. Web. 25 Jan. 2012.
<https://www.eff.org/issues/acta>.
"BBC News - Thousands March in Poland over Acta Internet Treaty." BBC - Homepage. 25 Jan.
2012. Web. 25 Jan. 2012. <http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-16735219>.
Gee, Sue. "SOPA and PIPA Shelved But Is ACTA Unstoppable" I Programmer - Programming,
Reviews and Projects. 22 Jan. 2012. Web. 25 Jan. 2012.
<http://www.i-programmer.info/news/81-web-general/3649-sopa-and-pipa-shelved-but-is-acta-
unstoppable.html>.
Rose, Michael. "OpEdNews - Article: Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) Removes Any
Need for SOPA or PIPA. It's WORSE." Opednews.com Progressive, Liberal United States and
International News, Opinion, Op-Eds and Politics. 24 Jan. 2012. Web. 25 Jan. 2012.
<http://www.opednews.com/articles/Anti-Counterfeiting-Trade-by-Michael-Rose-120123-
260.html>.
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