<story><title>US, Aus, Canada, Japan, Morocco, New Zealand, Singapore, and S. Korea sign ACTA</title><url>http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/news/2011/10/us-signs-international-anti-piracy-accord.ars</url><text></text></story><parent_chain></parent_chain><comment><author>linuxhansl</author><text>&amp;#62; Until European Union authorities began leaking the document’s text, the Obama administration was claiming the accord was a &quot;national security&quot; secret.&lt;p&gt;I cannot even begin to express how much this disgusts me. This is the government that I fund with my tax dollars, that is supposed to work on my behalf. There should no operation in the dark.&lt;p&gt;I hope Europe does not sign this nonsense, although I am not keeping my hopes up.
The notion that &quot;piracy&quot; (even that word is the result of well oiled marketing campaign) will destroy the content makers (rather than the crappy, repetitive stuff they create) is widespread among politicians.</text></comment>
<story><title>US, Aus, Canada, Japan, Morocco, New Zealand, Singapore, and S. Korea sign ACTA</title><url>http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/news/2011/10/us-signs-international-anti-piracy-accord.ars</url><text></text></story><parent_chain></parent_chain><comment><author>jrockway</author><text>Wow, this is scary.  The technology that the pirates will develop to trade files unnoticed, combined with anonymous payment systems like Bitcoin, mean that people in the business of child abuse will have it even easier than they already do.  It&apos;s great to criminalize college students sharing mix tapes or whatever, but the side effects are what&apos;s really frightening.  (Also, if we&apos;re going to fine someone $1.3MM for sharing music, shouldn&apos;t we just kill them instead?  Their life is ruined either way, but a quick and painless death seems much more humane than spending 60 years living in poverty as a slave to the recording industry.)&lt;p&gt;Won&apos;t someone &lt;i&gt;please&lt;/i&gt; think of the children?&lt;p&gt;(Do we really want to start fighting a losing War On Sharing alongside our War On Drugs, War On Liquids-on-planes, and War on Afghanistan?  Can society afford another losing war?)</text></comment>