"Under the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) at Canadian border crossings laptops, discs, and iPods will be subject to search, destruction, and fines if infringed copyright material is found. Wikileaks, known for stirring up controversy, leaked secret plans by the U.S. government to enter into a far-reaching new internet monitoring and regulation act known as the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) with Japan, the European Commission, and Switzerland. The new act was known in some circles as a "Pirate Bay killer", referring to the Swedish torrent site The Pirate Bay, as the new act criminalized nonprofit "facilitation of copyright infringement". However, the bill also included provisions which would make many commonly used privacy tools illegal and would demand that ISPs provide the government with complete user histories.
The leaked ACTA documents indicate that the new agreement marks a dramatic departure from previous anti-infringement efforts in that it authorizes government action against suspected infringers without any request from the copyright holders. In the past the copyright holders, or organizations that represented them such as the RIAA or IFPI took action again infringers. The new act gives government officials "authority to take action against infringers", essentially making them a government RIAA of sorts. For some users the new act may be "bye bye" to their iPod or laptop. Under the new act the border agents could destroy any devices found to hold copyright content that is deemed infringed. The new agreement states that it's oriented towards increased "civil enforcement" measures. And don't plan on having a lawyer present; the act includes "authority to order ex parte searches" (searches without a lawyer present) and "and other preliminary measures"."
Source: http://www.techamok.com/?pid=4596
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