The Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement. Sounds good, right? Smells of the usual “don’t buy Nika shoes and Bucci bags” that governments usually introduce. But this new international negotiation reeks of a bad future for our beloved internet, that consists of other things besides porn, I swear! Even though this agreement has been in the works since late 2007, it’s contents had been a secret due to “risking national security”. Well, earlier this month, wired.com managed to obtain a copy of the internet section of ACTA. Along the usual “thou shalt not torrent” commandments, they were able to find some alarming new propositions that, if passed, might spell DOOM (no, not that really dark PC game) for some of our beloved sites like Youtube, Flickr or even Blogger. Why? Because they propose that ISPs and sites have active checks of everything that is uploaded before it is submitted. No website can afford enough lawyers to ensure everything uploaded is legal. Another point discussed is the immediate response against copyright infringers. Anyone who even pirates something once would be cut off the internet forever, which would also affect their families. Just imagine your little sister raging at you cause she can’t check her facebook. Websites that include some sort of doubtful content will be blocked until ownership of copyright is proved. Other points like criminalizing peer-to-peer sharing of any kind, stopping generic medicine companies and diverting public funds for private trials are also proposed. The group’s last meeting is scheduled for January 2010 in Mexico. Let’s knock on wood and pray that this leak and the stirr its causing helps fix this terrible proposal that might destroy useful and interesting sites like Youpor-I mean, Youtube!

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