ALEA "ACTA" EST
The blogosphere lit up recently when the news that there was to be a tightening-up of the law which would affect downloading hit the collective consciousness of the 'Net Warriors.
Apparently, ACTA (and I really couldn't be fagged to look up the full name) is going to bring about the end of the virtual world as we know, and the Thought Police are going to be poised to ram their way into the homes of each and every one of us if we even contemplate the merest possibility of a hint of a chance that we're going to do something naughty.
This brought out the Revolutionaries in their droves, red scarves tied around their throats and clenched fists pounding the empty air.
Another view of the whole thing is that the new regime is simply a means to enforce the law as it stands already, and it is only things which were illegal before that will be illegal after ACTA is brought into play.
So nothing to worry about, then.
I had asked, on my Twitter/Facebook feed, for some elucidation about why so many people were fulminating and blaming GonziPN personally for the fact that their inherent right to surf the 'Net was being so heinously proscribed. I specifically asked that no rhetoric should be resorted to, but it was, leaving me no better informed except for a suspicion, now confirmed since reading a sober assessment by a young legal beagle who is way more knowledgeable than I, that what was getting people irritated was the fact that illegal downloading was going to be a less easy task.
And here is the rub, as that bane of teenager's lives for many years (Shakespeare) had probably put it. I have downloaded stuff along with the rest of them and frankly, it's such a bind downloading movies, that I'd love to be able to do it hassle-free, even if it costs a few euro. This doesn't apply to music which I've owned in vinyl, cassette and CD - there's a limit to how many times I think I should pay for the same thing.
I've done it illegally (go on, sue me) simply because since time began (i.e. since the Interwebsuperhighway started) Malta seems to have fallen into a black hole and trying to get stuff legally is very often a non-starter. It seems that rights holders were playing silly buggers - things are improving slowly, but we're still way off the mainstream of Europe, so perhaps our esteemed politicians, instead of trying to stick it to each other about ACTA, should do something about it.
Pity Grace Borg decided to bow out of politics: on her election (did you have any doubt she'd get in if she had tried?) she could have been appointed to an Action Committee to get us into the civilised world for movie buying purposes.
After all, I'm sure she knows plenty about why it's so difficult to source material from outside our shores: she represents the major rights holders here.
Popular Stories
In Discussion
21 Comments
Post comment
Please sign in or create your Account to post comments.
Franco Farrugia
Feb 9th, 10:20
I have read ACTA - 'Anti-Counterfeiting Trading Agreement' is its full name, btw - five times and am still struggling with some of the more difficult legal jargon it contains. It is all very hazy, at times, very general, as if it has been very cleverly and very expertly written in order not to worry users, yet at the same time including everything possible.
The following is my opinion:
It would take nothing short of a criminal to be against ACTA in its entirety.
However, it DOES change things. Article 27 will bring about changes and they are not all that wonderful.
My questions would therefore be on the following lines:
Will our ISP be asked to submit information about where we download from? And if yes, to whom will that info be given? Why should it be given to the rights holder? If at all, it should be given to the proper authorities.
Will our ISP be coerced into introducing new machinery, gadgets and software to monitor our i-movements? And if so, what kind of gadgetry will be used in order to IDENTIFY where we are heavily downloading from?
Will spot-checks become the order of the day? YES - that's what it says in ACTA.
Why should I even bother my ISP for extra GB I am downloading? After all, under my contract, I am entitled to unlimited downloading! And how will my ISP know what I am actually downloading?
Indeed, it would take a fool not to realise that ACTA has a few parts which will be translated into changes for the user.
But it would take an even bigger fool to politicise ACTA and I simply have no idea why the Maltese government is being so heavily attacked because of ACTA. It's not as if it has been adopted by said government. It has not even reached the European Parliament yet - it is scheduled for June.
Andy Farrugia
Feb 7th, 17:25
To the "doppelganger": can you read time as in .....TIME - Yesterday 16: 02 , yesterday 16: 08? Hahaha!
Mr Denis Pace
Feb 7th, 14:22
Some of your readers' comments highlight the prevalent narrow-mindedness of our society. It seems very obvious that Labour apologists (?"elves") have joined the anti-ACTA bandwagon without actually knowing what ACTA is saying. For them, this detail seems irrelevant. As long as they can hit out at ?GonziPN, facts are irrelevant.
I bothered to read the transcript. The gist of the document is an enforcement of laws already in existence. However, what would change, in my humble opinion, is the role of ISPs. As they could be prosecuted in case of user infringement, the onus to control downloads has been partially shifted on to them. This irks me and I am not sure of its implications.
Unfortunately, we are "maltese-izing " the arguments and rendering them either red or blue.
What about individual intellectual property rights? Does Labour have any notion of opinion about these?
What about Copyright theft? Does this notion ever go through their minds?
R. Gauci
Feb 7th, 01:49
Hsibtni se naqra xi haga fuq l-ACTA imma kull ma sibt kien attentat fjakk biex jiddefendi lill-PN mill-fatt li jaqblu ma l-ACTA u s-soltu attakk fuq il-PL. The Times ghandha tibda tissaffa min artikolisti partiggjani sakemm dawn ma jkunux dikjarati ma partit mhux bil-mohbi.
Andy Farrugia
Feb 6th, 16:08
Errata: Take a refresher course in the denotative meaning of words.
Victor Laiviera
Feb 5th, 21:53
Another amazing coincide. Borg Cardona and The Blogger are of one mind on this.
Isn't life amazing?
Andrew Borg-Cardona
Feb 6th, 11:15
What are you gibbering about now? I AM the Blogger - you are merely a comment-writer.
Victor Laiviera
Feb 6th, 14:40
I was not referrring to myself (I am 100% against ACTA) but to your alter ego, who, by an amazing coincidence, always seems to comment on the same subjects you do.
Andy Farrugia
Feb 6th, 16:02
Hahaha! "alter ego", meaning distinct, diametrically opposed personality. Take a refresher course in denotational semantics!
Ms.D. Galea
Feb 6th, 20:49
@Mr Farrugia,
Maybe, Mr Laiviera was thinking of his own good self when he referred to Dr Borg Cardona's " alter ego".
Victor Laiviera
Feb 6th, 21:41
@ Andy Farrugia
An "alter ego" is a distinct personality, but there is nothing which says it has to be "diametrically opposed".
I looked up "denotational semantics" and found it is a term used in computer programming which seems to have nothing to do with this discussion. What did you think ut meant? Did you use it just because it looked long and nice, without any real notion of its meaning?
There is a word for that too - "malapropism" a term, just in case you don't know, made famous by Mrs Malaprop, a character created Richard Sheridan in the play “The Rivals”. You probably think he is a "loony lefty" too, just like George Orwell.
Victor Gelfo
Feb 7th, 07:43
You seem to be against everything.
Not surprising, socialists are against life itself!
Victor Laiviera
Feb 7th, 09:09
@ Andy Farrugia
An "alter ego" is a distinct personality, but there is nothing which says it has to be "diametrically opposed".
I looked up "denotational semantics" and found it is a term used in computer programming which seems to have nothing to do with this discussion. What did you think it meant? Did you use it just because it looked long and nice, without any real notion of its meaning?
There is a word for that too - "malapropism" a term, just in case you don't know, made famous by Mrs Malaprop, a character created Richard Sheridan in the play “The Rivals”. You probably think he is a "loony lefty" too, just like George Orwell.
Mario Pace
Feb 5th, 11:46
"Another view of the whole thing is that the new regime is simply a means to enforce the law as it stands already, and it is only things which were illegal before that will be illegal after ACTA is brought into play.
So nothing to worry about, then"
Non sequitar buddy!
What would you say if had to enforce our current anti drug laws by means of a group of wardens licenced to randomly check out any one of our homes without a warrant? Imagine them checking our homes inside out for drugs, and also the bodies of the persons present -including the holes!
Would you say nothing to hide nothing to fear? Would you say "it is only things which were illegal before that will be illegal after DRUGTA is brought into play so nothing to worry about, then"?
Or would you say 'Keep those holes clean, just in case!'
?
S. Vella
Feb 4th, 19:50
ACTA will neither stop illegal downloading nor will it make it more difficult. Ten minutes to set up proxies and a subscription to a VPN service provider is all it takes to circumvent that particular issue.
The current ACTA proposal may be used to throttle popular sites like wikipedia. It will probably not happen but I would prefer a reasonable 'fair use" clause to be defined in ACTA. A guarantee by today's politicians may not be upheld by the new generation.
Amante Reale
Feb 6th, 17:12
Unfortunately, "fair use" and "safe harbor" are already badly defined laws as it is, after ACTA they will simply cease to exist not become better defined. They're the only laws that people with honest intentions (like tumblr bloggers) have to protect them; with ACTA, that too will die.
Zagroma Savrene
Feb 7th, 16:15
A VPN would only be useful if not the whole world agreed to it. Anyone knows if Asian countries have agreed to ACTA? Because we might need to spoof our IP via a VPN from Asia if ACTA comes in force.
Andy Farrugia
Feb 4th, 14:50
If people want privacy then they should not avail themselves of the Internet. They should seek quiet tete-a-tetes or the confessional.
Matthew Galea Debono
Feb 4th, 18:03
And one presumes you have no problem whatsoever with your online activities IN THEIR ENTIRETY being accessible to the State for any reason. At the risk of being snide, this means that either you don't use the internet all that much, you're an exhibitionist and condone all your actions being laid bare(excuse the pun) to the public, or you're being canonized as a Saint as we speak. The State has neither the right nor the reason to have access to what sites I frequent for the purposes of buying stuff neither should it know what I say to my friends while chatting. The breakdown of net neutrality will make all those things possible. A quiet tete-a-tetes is not necessarily viable when the person you seek to converse with is in another country for example. With all due respect, I kindly ask you to leave such notions back in the times before Guglielmo Marconi where they belong. This is the 21st century so let's act like it.
Andy Farrugia
Feb 4th, 21:30
You are perfectly correct, Mr Galea Debono; I don't use the internet all that much. In fact, I don't really trust anything to do with technology and would consider myself as a technological dinosaur. Now, if that disqualifies me from forming part of the post-human 21st century, so be it. Meantime, I guess I'll be hanging around for a little bit more, just for the sake of amusing myself with post-human foibles.
Matthew Galea Debono
Feb 4th, 13:59
Dr. Borg Cardona,
Your opinions make a great deal of sense, although as a one who is passionate about the innovation stimulated by the freedom of user created content on the internet, allow me to add a small consideration to the issues you have raised above.
As a preliminary point, let me make it clear that I am completely in favour of Intellectual Property rights. The main concern as far as ACTA goes is the possibility of ISP's monitoring the data passing through their servers. In the wake of the EDRP recently pushing for better respect of net neutrality at EU level, I and many of my peers find the adoption of a measure that could undermine net neutrality right after having pushed for it to be somewhat hypocritical of the EU. Simon Busuttil has released a video all over facebook stating that there will be no obligation on ISP's to do so. Nonetheless, any shrewd legal academic knows that it is not the clear provisions of the law that cause trouble but rather the ambiguous parts. Just because ISP's are not forced to monitor data expressly, frameworks of imposed sanctions could just as easily coerce them to do so in order to avoid facing penalties. That would effectively to one arguing that Intellectual Property would have been (ab)used as a vehicle to make the Internet a Police State
I share your contempt for the way the labour party jumped on the bandwagon of dislike for this agreement, however it is with the utmost respect that I ask you to consider that this is not a party issue so much as a pan European Human Rights issue. My own thesis is on the sphere of intellectual property and I am completely in favour of encouraging such laws as they promote innovation. My concern along with that of many is that this measure may be creating a framework that could eventually make the Internet little more than a propaganda machine for governments who could effectively censor what comes in and goes out.
As I have stated I agree with many of the points you have brought up but I would like to see some bloggers actually address the above issues seriously. It's not about those few Euro spent to buy a movie digitally, it's about big brother watching the Internet.