Servbot is also a bit of a politics nerd– by way of which this story that mocks the public and the idea of democracy, not to mention pertains to a threat to a good portion of the geek internet.

The Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) is a treaty that has been negotiated by industry trade representatives and politicians IN SECRET. The public has had no official release on news pertaining to the treaty or its provisions, least of which the numerous civil liberties organizations that would ordinarily have a keen eye on a treaty of this scope.

In addition to the anti-counterfeiting provisions that would be expected of the title, which would deal in reducing the instances of physical counterfeit goods like fake Gucci handbags or fake Rolex watches, there is a provision that would force ISPs to turn over records of IP addresses and other information pertaining to suspected pirates.

Oh, this is all without a warrant, as well. WITHOUT a warrant. This means that agents of whatever organization the ACTA ends up creating as an enforcement arm can pick up the phone, demand the records from an ISP, and then a couple of weeks later, you, or someone else you know, could be staring down the barrel of a lawsuit that can end you financially.

In a recent article, this is what US Representative to the World Trade Organization, Ron Kirk, said about ACTA.

I had a chance to talk to Kirk about the secrecy of the ACTA agreement. He said the ACTA text would be made public, “when it is finished.” I told him it that was too late, and the public wanted the text out now, before it is too late to influence anything.

Kirk said he was aware that there were those who wanted the text public, but the issue of transparency was “about as complicated as it can get,” and Kirk didn’t want people “walking away from the table,” which would likely happen if the text was public, he said.

So: no public input at all, negotiations of the treaty conducted in utter secret, we have to get our information about it through government leaks, and a provision that promises to ruin the lives of several hundred thousands, if not millions.

See the original article here.