ACTA: The End of the Internet As We Know It

All words by DigiLove: While internet users across the nation were up in arms over SOPA and PIPA earlier this month, most people are unaware that the United States government signed an international treaty on October 1st of last year, without congressional approval, which many critics are calling far worse than SOPA or PIPA could ever hope to be. The United States was joined in October in signing the treaty by Australia, Canada, Japan, South Korea, Morocco, New Zealand, and Singapore. Yesterday, the European Union, along with Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxemburg, Malta, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, and the United Kingdom signed the treaty, which is known as the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement, or ACTA.

ACTA is similar to SOPA and PIPA in that it allows businesses making accusations of copyright infringement to take down websites associated with copyright infringement. It surpasses SOPA and PIPA as a threat to all internet users because ISPs are normally only forced to remove content after a court order, but under ACTA, all ISPs around the world will have the power to remove content as they please with no involvement from the courts, completely bypassing the judicial system. ACTA is also a threat to our personal security and privacy, as it would allow ISPs to closely monitor your activities online and disclose personal user information to the copyright holder.

As EDM enthusiasts, we know that this industry survives off of using copyrighted materials, especially when aspiring DJs and producers release their tracks for distribution online. The implementation of ACTA would not only spell the end of the internet as we know it, but it would also effectively change the face of the EDM industry as we know it. For a better idea of how ACTA will pertain to the EDM industry, read our write-up on SOPA and PIPA here. To get a quick overview of ACTA, watch the video at the top of this post.

For more information on what you can do about ACTA, visit the Stopp ACTA website.