Online Censorship



If you thought SOPA was bad, just wait until you meet ACTA. Also, Find out what ACTA is, and why it's a problem.

ACTA is not the European SOPA. It’s an INTERNATIONAL treaty that will apply to every country that signs it. ACTA will not just affect websites, and have them blocked out of the internet - its measures go as far as surveillance of anything you share through private channels.

Oh, yeah. And the Obama administration already signed it without Congressional approval a few months ago. So much for the White House's sentiments against SOPA that "Any effort to combat online piracy must guard against the risk of online censorship..."

Apparently they didn't really mean it. You can read all about how the Obama administration is trying to pass this off as an "executive agreement" as opposed to a international treaty so they didn't have to ask for the Congress's permission. And how it's fundamentally unconstitutional. Basically, Article 1, Section 8 of the US Constitution says that intellectual property is an issue under Congress's purview, and not the President's. Since it is an issue clearly stated in the Constitution as not being under the President's control, ACTA should be submitted to the Senate for approval.

Senator Ron Wyden of Oregon even wrote the President on this very issue last October:

“[T]he executive branch lacks constitutional authority to enter into binding international agreements on matters under Congress’s plenary powers, including the Article I powers to regulate foreign commerce and protect intellectual property,” the letter from Wyden states. “Yet, through ACTA and without your clarification, the USTR looks to be claiming the authority to do just that.”

So, what can we as Americans do to stop ACTA?

Well, if you already signed the White House petition to "End ACTA and Protect Our Right to Privacy on the Internet," IT'S NOT ENOUGH. The US has already signed the agreement. The only way we can get out of ACTA as a country is if it is brought before the Senate for ratification.

HERE'S WHAT YOU NEED TO DO:

• Sign the "Please Submit ACTA to the Senate for Ratification as Required by the Constitution for Trade Agreements" White House petition.</i>
  
• Contact your Senator and tell them you want ACTA brought before Congress as an international treaty for ratification, and that you want it to be struck down.


• Contact your Representatives and do the same thing.

Alright. So now what?

Well, did you know that over 10,000 people in Poland have flooded the streets in opposition to ACTA? And that Ireland and 26 other European countries will sign tomorrow? What is especially fishy about ACTA is that not only was it developed (AND SIGNED HERE IN THE US) behind closed doors, but in Europe unelected officials were part of its development.

Eight of the 11 ACTA participating countries have signed the agreement and the battle now mainly lies in the European Union. This week, the Council of the European Union—one of the European Union’s two legislative bodies, composed of executives from the 27 EU member states—adopted ACTA during a completely unrelated meeting on agriculture and fisheries. It is now up to the European Parliament, the EU’s other legislative body, to give consent on ACTA in the coming year.

So y'all getting it? Done in secret. Unelected officials were involved in the development. Signed in secret in many countries. Has the potential to change the internet as we know it.

After ACTA is signed by Poland, Ireland, most European countries and the EU itself tomorrow, the only thing that stands between ACTA and the world, really, is the European Parliament. If they don't ratify ACTA, it won't go into effect in Europe.

SO WHAT ELSE CAN WE DO ON A GLOBAL SCALE? Sign the petition at accessnow.org to encourage the European Union to take a stand and vote "NO" on ACTA.

After you've spread the word, watch the video Anonymous made about ACTA. Be educated about this y'all. Our ability to even write and share posts like this one are in danger if we're not in the know and DOING something.