By now, you probably know the implications of ACTA (if not, check some of our previous posts)

But what can you do about it?

1. Tell everyone you know – The more people know, the more opposition this bill will have.
2. Tell your MEPs and get them to vote against the bill – MEP Emails
3. Tell your TDs and let them know about ACTA and why it should be stopped- TD Emails
4. Sign the petition against ACTA along with over 800,000 other people – Petition
5. Openly support any of the many organisations campaigning against ACTA, and encourage others to do so as well.

Source: Pirate Party UK

Here is the newly-revised council:

Captain / Auditor – Ben Doyle
Secretary – Keiran Manning
Treasurer – Jeff Warren
System Administrator / Chief Hydraulic Engineer – Michael Gallagher
Public Relations Officer (P.R.O.) – Ian Hunter

I was asked via email to talk and raise awareness about ACTA and SOPA Ireland at the E.G.M. Unfortunately, I missed this message, so I shall relay it here for all of you to see:

ACTA  is a proposed treaty (international law) that forces ISPs to moniter everything we do (and much much more) which will either be voted on or not by the European Parliament on the 31st of March 2012.

Some TCD students have set up www.saveourinternet.org for more information about the bills

Currently SaveOurInternet.org is helping to stop the potential passing of the ACTA (Anti-Counterfeit Trade Agreement) treaty. ACTA has been very well hidden for the last four years and finished nearly a year ago. ACTA is now being rushed through the signing process, already signed by 8 out of 11 countries including the US.

Unlike SOPA or PIPA, ACTA does not hold websites liable for copyright infringement. ACTA instead, holds the ISPs (Internet Service Providers), such as UPC, liable for the copyright infringement of its users. ACTA will force ISPs to monitor our on-line lives and thoughts, reporting every instance of copyright infringement. ACTA gives copyright holders the right to demand from the ISPs the personal details of a customer whose account is alleged to be involved in copyright fraud.

ACTA requires that governments collect statistical information on on-line behaviour, which implies serious invasion of privacy. ACTA requires that governments encourage the establishment and maintenance of organized groups representing right holders who can give their views to the courts. A vested interest group participating in the courts. Is this democratic?

Because ACTA pulls down individuals and not international private organisations, such as Wikipedia or Google, there will be no black-out day for ACTA; not unless organisations representing the public take the initiative. Civil rights groups, public bodies, societies, sports clubs, schools, universities, unions all need to step up and raise awareness, because upon the writing of this piece – 24/01/2012 – effectively nobody knows about ACTA.

By the 31st of March 2012, we need to let the European Parliament know that we do not want a gross invasion of our privacy and a blow to our freedom of speech.

March 31st!

Interesting article on SOPA as it applies to our wee island.

Ireland’s SOPA: A FAQ
What’s this all about?

Long story short: the Irish government plans, before the end of January, to bring in a law which would allow Irish courts to block access to websites accused of infringing copyright (and possibly do other things as well).

Isn’t that a short time for parliament to examine it?

The Irish parliament won’t have a chance to debate it before it’s passed. The law is to be brought in by a statutory instrument, something which requires only the stroke of a minister’s pen.

Who’s responsible?

The law is the responsibility of the Department for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation where the key person is junior minister Sean Sherlock.

What will the law say?

We don’t have a final text yet. But the key part is likely to be similar to a previous draft which said:

3. The Act of 2000 is hereby amended by the insertion of the following subsection after subsection (5) of section 40:

(5A)(a) without prejudice to subsections (3) and (4), the owner of the copyright in the work concerned may apply to the High Court for an injunction against a person who provides facilities referred to in subsection (3) where those facilities are being used by one or more third parties to infringe the copyright in that work.

(b) In considering an application for an injunction under this subsection, the court shall have due regard to the rights of any third party likely to be affected and the court shall make such directions (including, where appropriate, a direction requiring a third party to be put on notice of the application) as the court may deem necessary or appropriate in all the circumstances.

Can we have that in English please?

Certainly. This will give the Irish courts an open-ended power to grant orders against ISPs and other intermediaries who provide facilities which might be used to infringe copyright. This would include hosting providers, social networks, forums, video hosting sites – potentially most online services.

I’m sure everyone has heard about SOPA and PIPA. If not, go Wikipedia it… :¬)

Here’s a little article to explain the bills

Sites such as Reddit, Wikipedia, Mozilla and countless other sites have gone down in protest of the bill today.

Other major sites such as Google, Microsoft and Twitter have openly stated their opposition to the bill. These bills are designed to reduce piracy, but in doing so they will be breaking the foundations of the open free content web. Videos on YouTube that use some music from an artist without permission could potentially be an excuse to close down the entire site.

 

Assume there’s a corner store in your neighborhood that rents movies. But the movie industry believes that some or even all of the videos in that store are unauthorized copies, so that they’re not being paid when people watch their movies. What should be done?

SOPA/PIPA don’t aim at the people trying to get to the store. SOPA/ PIPA don’t penalize or regulate the store itself. SOPA and PIPA penalize us if we don’t block the people trying to get to the store.

Here’s an example blackout message, from TheOatmeal.com:

Thankfully, SOPA has been sidelined for now, but it’s not completely gone, and there’s still PIPA to worry about!

In other news, expect an E.G.M. soon. We’re looking for some new crew mates to commandeer this society’s ship. More Details to follow!