Did you know that the major countries around the world are in the process of negotiating a treaty to govern copyright law around the world? The treaty is called the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA).  No surprise if you didn’t know, because the treaty is being negotiated in secret, based on claims of national security.

Despite the lack of transparency, provisions are leaking out. Those particularly that relate to the Internet are outrageous and over-reaching to a degree unprecedented. Take a look.  The Electronic Frontier Foundation is working the issue and deserves your support if you care about unfettered access to the Internet.

The leaks confirm everything that we feared about the secret ACTA negotiations. The Internet provisions have nothing to do with addressing counterfeit products, but are all about imposing a set of copyright industry demands on the global Internet, including obligations on ISPs to adopt Three Strikes Internet disconnection policies, and a global expansion of DMCA-style TPM laws.