A Break From Usual Programming

In the past week, the Internet at large has realized that it is not safe. The recent fears concerning US-backed SOPA brought out the frequentors' of the internets' Guy Fawkes masks and V for Vendetta .gifs. Those who call the internet home (and believe me, there are quite a few) are making their voices heard in response to the government's attempt and subsequent success shutting down such file sharing websites as Meagupload and Fileshare.

Although SOPA has been shelved for now, a new global threat has come on the scene. ACTA is, according to Electronic Frontier Foundation.org,

"ACTA has several features that raise significant potential concerns for consumers’ privacy and civil liberties for innovation and the free flow of information on the Internet legitimate commerce and for developing countries’ ability to choose policy options that best suit their domestic priorities and level of economic development.

ACTA is being negotiated by a select group of industrialized countries outside of existing international multilateral venues for creating new IP norms such as the World Intellectual Property Organization and (since TRIPs) the World Trade Organization. Both civil society and developing countries are intentionally being excluded from these negotiations. While the existing international fora provide (at least to some extent) room for a range of views to be heard and addressed no such checks and balances will influence the outcome of the ACTA negotiations."

It may not sound too terrible, but ACTA encourages not only censorship of the internet, but also active monitoring of internet by the agreeing nations' government. Participating countries include the United States, Japan, the EU, Republic of Korea, Australia, Canada, and other major countries.

Here's a video for more info on ACTA, called "Say NO to ACTA."
(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=citzRjwk-sQ)

Spread the word on ACTA!