These copyright police would be given the job of checking laptops, iPods, iPhones and other personal devices for content that “infringes” on copyright laws, “including ripped CDs and DVDs”. To make this Stalinist proposition even more annoying, front line security staff will be empowered to decide what content infringes on copyright laws. And also makes any content copied from DVD or a digital video recorder open to scrutiny by officials.
It’s likely these lunatic new proposals are being drawn up in secret in order to outflank any outcry by privacy advocates or any true intellectual discussion as to whether such protectionism should be applied in favour of content creation firms.
Officials will be able to levy fines or seize goods even in the absence of any complaints by rights holders. And searches will be allowed even without a lawyer present. And ISPs will be forced to hand over personal information on any alleged copyright infringers - no actual proof will be required. And, to make it even more Orwellian, ACTA will be unaccountable to any existing trade organisation, effectively meaning the RIAA and other such bodies will run a public/private international police force with the right to search, fine and confiscate property without any accountability. Local Canadian privacy advocates point out that governments have been privately negotiating these new proposals without consultation, and that the proposals revealed yesterday only surfaced due to the application of freedom of information type laws.
Emphasis added by me.
What the hell is this?!!?
Are they out of their frikkin minds?!
How are they going to determine which device to check and whose device to check? And how long is this checking going to take? And what are the guidelines for determining what is a legit copy and what is allegedly pirated?
I repeat: Are they out of their frikkin minds?!
And if they begin this with international travelers, next will be domestic travelers. And if they do it with domestic travelers, the next step will be a "stop and frisk" of people walking down the street with any device!
They'll do it to people walking with cameras too!
If you think that possibility is far-fetched, go look at the previous posts here about what a police state is like!
-- via Just Another Mobile Monday
These used to be the ideals of America!
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What did our soldiers die for?
Previously here:
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Photo Nazis!
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