ACTA leaks -- again

By Cory Doctorow at 10:52 pm Wednesday, Jul 14

With the latest round of secret negotiations over ACTA, the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement, concluded last week in Switzerland, it was only a matter of time until the full text of the treaty's current draft leaked into the public domain, which it has duly done.

ACTA is an extreme copyright treaty that threatens to establish a world of border iPod and laptop searches for infringing music and movies; jail sentences for downloading; universal network surveillance; and whole-house Internet disconnection orders served on ISPs against customers who are accused (without proof) of violating copyright law.

It has been negotiated in secret over protests from MPs, Congressmen, MEPs, public interest groups, technology industry associations, archivists, educators, groups representing people with disabilities, poor countries, and anyone who isn't an utter corporate lickspittle.

But it continues to function in secret, and it continues to leak. The current leak shows the negotiating position of all the participating countries. The US does not cover itself in glory here -- but then, it was Obama's White House that intervened to keep the treaty secret, citing "National Security."

ACTA so transparent, the text still has to be leaked