A Virtual Riot!

With the proliferation of pirated music, films, games, software and even books, governments have resorted to drafting bills in attempting to eliminate internet piracy. The idea to create an Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) was formed in 2006 by Japanese and American governments with the intention of providing an international framework that significantly enforces intellectual property laws. A considerable part of the ACTA involves extensively reducing internet piracy and counterfeiting. The reduction of internet piracy would arise as government agencies would employ persistent net watchdogs, prohibiting any pirated material from being shared on the web.The official final draft of the ACTA bill is still being discussed by politicians who are weighing out the positive and negative effects ACTA. The succession of the multinational agreement being passed would benefit a variety of industries, mainly those centered around entertainment, such as the music, film, and gaming industries. These benefits involve the entertainment industries receiving maximum profits for their production. Billions of dollars would be given back to their rightful owners as the world would only have access to these forms of entertainment by paying for it. Although this proposition seems 100% fair on the producers of entertainment, there are other factors to consider. If this agreement was to succeed what would happen to the ‘holy grail’ of the internet-YOUTUBE?

A vast majority of Youtube would be obliterated, along with many other sites that contain open, complimentary popular culture. Many people have argued that the agreement would also destroy fundamental human rights involving freedom of expression with ACTA creating a surveillance culture, with the proposed evolution of the population becoming increasingly paranoid by the close supervision of the government. Will there eventually become underground online market for free downloads, a dark website containing of secret code passed on to only those that can be trusted? Are average university students ,(wanting to watch a free series of “Lost”), going to be compared with low class criminals and counterfeiters?

The success of the enforcement of ACTA appears unachievable, as intelligent Swedish teenagers and hackers are always finding a way to challenge internet laws and find an alternative ways of obtaining the virtual goods they desire. Furthermore it seems like a massive mission that the united governments are potentially embarking on, however if they do go through with their mission, and succeed, the retaliation from the internet populous could result into a virtual riot!