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".