DRANT #304: ACTA AND DODD: Out of Orifices

You remember when they passed the Patriot Act, in the dead of night, and no one even bothered to read it ?
Did you think it was gonna stop there ?
They learned a big lesson that night.
They learned that We were going to whine and do nothing.
Well, They are about to do it -- again, two more times, and We are about to do nothing- again.

1- The USA and its sodomize-the-planet global industrial partners in the G-8 have been working on something called ACTA: The Anti Counterfeiting Trade Agreement. They are planning to sign this on July 8 or 9, at the G-8 meetings in Hokkaido Japan.
The contents of the proposed deal were leaked by Wikileaks. Sue Schwab, the US Trade Representative, her co-perpetrators in Congress and her cohorts in the other "developed" countries -- are planning to just - do it. No debate, no public access, no sunlight to shine on this UberOrwellian Global rape of what remains of our personal privacy. See the Wikipedia entry below for details. Suffice to say, that downloading movies from BitTorrent will be punishable by prison, and that your Ipod will be subject to search, full inspection, and seizure by the TSA at every airport or border crossing, as will your very own hard drive, and the contents of your cell phone.
We are quickly running out of orifices for them to invade.
The contents of this agreement are despicable. But the method is far worse. Secret drafting, hidden negotiations, executive approval. Boom its over.
Now remember what happens with real treaties - they must be ratified (thus presumably scrutinized) by Congress, before they become- THE SUPREME LAW OF THE LAND. Once ratified, they supersede all national laws. But- in Bushian times, this is being designed as a "Trade Agreement," executable solely by the Chief Executive of the USA, and subject to neither scrutiny nor approval by us, or Congress. And, it will become law overnight. Poof.
If you thought that the 4th amendment to what used to be known as The Constitution was roadkill already, just wait til you're in a TSA detention center because they think you have an unlicensed song or movie on your laptop. Or, most likely and insidious, because you look funny to them, and they need a justification to publicly invade your every pore. And then pray that you are not "illegal."

2- The Senate is about to pass a "Foreclosure Prevention Act" that would - ostensibly- help just us folks survive the current housing repossessacide.
Swell. But:

"Hidden deep in Senator Christopher Dodd's 630-page Senate housing legislation is a sweeping provision that affects the privacy and operation of nearly all of America’s small businesses. The provision, which was added by the bill's managers without debate this week, would require the nation's payment systems to track, aggregate, and report information on nearly every electronic transaction to the federal government."

"This is a provision with astonishing reach, and it was slipped into the bill just this week. Not only does it affect nearly every credit card transaction in America, such as Visa, MasterCard, Discover, and American Express, but the bill specifically targets payment systems like eBay's PayPal, Amazon, and Google Checkout that are used by many small online businesses. The privacy implications for America's small businesses are breathtaking."

So what does this mean ? It means that every- I say every -- single transaction you make will be reported to the Government.

It means that the law will require information reporting on payment card and third party network transactions. Payment settlement entities, including merchant acquiring banks and third party settlement organizations, or third party payment facilitators acting on their behalf, will be required to report the annual gross amount of reportable transactions to the IRS and to the participating payee. Reportable transactions include any payment card transaction and any third party network transaction. Participating payees include persons who accept a payment card as payment and third party networks who accept payment from a third party settlement organization in settlement of transactions. A payment card means any card issued pursuant to an agreement or arrangement which provides for standards and mechanisms for settling the transactions.

And - once again- the contents of this agreement are despicable, and once again the method is far worse. Once again: secret drafting, hidden negotiations, no debate. Boom its over.
So, we are either going to get our whining shoes on again, or do something.
You now know the facts. You know what They are planning.
What are ya gonna DO about it ?
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Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) is a proposed plurilateral trade agreement that would impose strict enforcement of intellectual property rights related to Internet activity and trade in information-based goods. The agreement is being secretly negotiated by the governments of the United States, the European Commission, Japan, Switzerland, Australia, New Zealand, South Korea, Canada, and Mexico.[1][2] If adopted at the 34th G8 summit in July 2008, the treaty would establish an international coalition against copyright infringement, imposing a strong, top-down enforcement regime of copyright laws in developed nations. The proposed agreement would allow border officials to search laptops, MP3 players, and cellular phones for copyright-infringing content. It would also impose new cooperation requirements upon internet service providers (ISPs), including perfunctory disclosure of customer information, and restrict the use of online privacy tools. The proposal specifies a plan to encourage developing nations to accept the legal regime.
The European Commission, the Office of the United States Trade Representative, the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, and other government agencies have acknowledged participating in ACTA negotiations, but they have refused to release drafts of the treaty or to discuss specific terms under discussion in the negotiations. Public interest advocates in Canada filed an access to information request but received only a document stating the title of the agreement, with everything else blacked out.[2] On May 22, 2008, a discussion paper about the proposed agreement was uploaded to Wikileaks, and newspaper reports about the secret negotiations quickly followed.[3][4][2][5]
ACTA is part of a broader "forum shifting" strategy employed by the trade representatives of the U.S., E.C., Japan, and other supporters of rigid intellectual property enforcement: similar terms and provisions currently appear in the World Customs Organization draft SECURE treaty.[6]
Provisions

Border searches
Newspaper reports indicate that the proposed agreement would empower security officials at airports and other international borders to conduct random ex officio searches of laptops, MP3 players, and cellular phones for illegally downloaded or "ripped" music and movies. Travelers with infringing content would be subject to a fine and may have their devices confiscated or destroyed.[2][5]

ISP cooperation
The leaked document includes a provision to force internet service providers to provide information about suspected copyright infringers without a warrant, making it easier for the record industry to sue music file sharers and for officials to shut down non-commercial BitTorrent websites such as The Pirate Bay.[7]

Enforcement
ACTA would create its own governing body outside existing international institutions such as the World Trade Organization (WTO), the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) or the United Nations.[2][8]

Interpretation

It has been argued[9] that the main thrust of ACTA is to provide safe harbor for service providers so that they may not hesitate to provide information about infringers; this may be used, for instance, to quickly identify and stop infringers once their identities are confirmed by their providers.
Similarly, it provides for criminalization of copyright infringement, granting law enforcement the powers to perform criminal investigation, arrests and pursue criminal citations or prosecution of suspects who may have infringed on copyright.
More pressingly, being an international treaty, it allows for these provisions—usually administered through public legislation and subject to judiciary oversight—to be pushed through via closed negotiations among members of the executive bodies of the signatories, and once it is ratified, using trade incentives and the like to persuade other nations to adopt its terms without much scope for negotiation.

Confusion
In Canada, there is some confusion with proposals in ACTA and Bill C-61.

External links

Proposed US ACTA multi-lateral intellectual property trade agreement (2007) posted on Wikileaks
ACTA document posted on Wikileaks
ACTA information from IP Justice
ACTA articles by Michael Geist
An ACTA Call to Arms: No more secret government posted by William Patry, formerly copyright counsel to the U.S. House of Representatives.
The Problem With ACTA Knowledge Ecology Studies comment by Aaron Shaw.
References

^ Geiger, Andrea. "A View From Europe: The high price of counterfeiting, and getting real about enforcement", The Hill, 2008-04-30. Retrieved on 2008-05-27.
^ a b c d e Pilieci, Vito. "Copyright deal could toughen rules governing info on iPods, computers", Vancouver Sun, 2008-05-26. Retrieved on 2008-05-27.
^ Proposed US ACTA multi-lateral intellectual property trade agreement (2007). Wikileaks (May 22, 2008).
^ Jason Mick (May 23, 2008). Wikileaks Airs U.S. Plans to Kill Pirate Bay, Monitor ISPs With Multinational ACTA Proposal. DailyTech.
^ a b Weeks, Carly. "Anti-piracy strategy will help government to spy, critic says", The Globe and Mail, 2008-05-26. Retrieved on 2008-05-27.
^ SECURE Draft (Feb. 2008). World Customs Organization (WCO) (February 2008).
^ Ingram, Matthew. "Do we need copyright cops?", Ingram 2.0, Globe and Mail, 2008-05-26. Retrieved on 2008-05-27.
^ Fact Sheet: Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement. European Commission (2007-10-23). Retrieved on 2008-05-27.
^ Anderson, Nate (2008-06-02). The real ACTA threat (it's not iPod-scanning border guards). Ars Technica. Retrieved on 2008-06-14.
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http://www.freedomworks.org/newsroom/press_template.php?press_id=2571

June 19, 2008
Senate Housing Bill Requires eBay, Amazon, Google, and All Credit Card Companies to Report Transactions to the Government

Broad, invasive provision touches nearly every aspect of American commerce.

Washington, D.C. - Hidden deep in Senator Christopher Dodd's 630-page Senate housing legislation is a sweeping provision that affects the privacy and operation of nearly all of America’s small businesses. The provision, which was added by the bill's managers without debate this week, would require the nation's payment systems to track, aggregate, and report information on nearly every electronic transaction to the federal government.

Call Congress and Tell Them to Oppose The eBay Reporting Provision in the Housing Bill: 1-866-928-3035

FreedomWorks Chairman Dick Armey commented: "This is a provision with astonishing reach, and it was slipped into the bill just this week. Not only does it affect nearly every credit card transaction in America, such as Visa, MasterCard, Discover, and American Express, but the bill specifically targets payment systems like eBay's PayPal, Amazon, and Google Checkout that are used by many small online businesses. The privacy implications for America's small businesses are breathtaking."

"Privacy groups like the Center for Democracy and Technology and small business organizations like the NFIB sharply criticized this idea when it first appeared earlier this year. What is the federal government's purpose with this kind of detailed data? How will this database be secured, and who will have access? Many small proprietors use their Social Security number as their tax ID. How will their privacy be protected? What compliance costs will this impose on businesses? Why is Sen. Chris Dodd putting this provision in a housing bailout bill? The bill also includes the creation of a new national fingerprint registry for mortgage brokers.

"At a time when concerns about both identity theft and government spying are paramount, Congress wants to create a new honey pot of private data that includes Social Security numbers. This bill reduces privacy across America's payment processing systems and treats every American small business or eBay power seller like a criminal on parole by requiring an unprecedented level of reporting to the federal government. This outrageous idea is another reason to delay the housing bailout legislation so that Senators and the public at large have time to examine its full implications."

From the Senate Bill Summary:

Payment Card and Third Party Network Information Reporting. The proposal requires information reporting on payment card and third party network transactions. Payment settlement entities, including merchant acquiring banks and third party settlement organizations, or third party payment facilitators acting on their behalf, will be required to report the annual gross amount of reportable transactions to the IRS and to the participating payee. Reportable transactions include any payment card transaction and any third party network transaction. Participating payees include persons who accept a payment card as payment and third party networks who accept payment from a third party settlement organization in settlement of transactions. A payment card means any card issued pursuant to an agreement or arrangement which provides for standards and mechanisms for settling the transactions. Use of an account number or other indicia associated with a payment card will be treated in the same manner as a payment card. A de minimis exception for transactions of $10,000 or less and 200 transactions or less applies to payments by third party settlement organizations. The proposal applies to returns for calendar years beginning after December 31, 2010. Back-up withholding provisions apply to amounts paid after December 31, 2011. This proposal is estimated to raise $9.802 billion over ten years.



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