A proposed trade agreement could authorize border agents to search the contents of laptops and iPods for copyrighted material
Posted 05.30.2008 at 10:49 am
19 Comments
Airport Security
Andrew Dinh (CC Licensed)
As if the security in airports and controls at border crossings weren't slow and intrusive enough, governments around the world are quietly passing laws to allow them to search the contents of your laptop and other electronic devices, like iPods and cellphones. A United States court last month gave border agents carte blanche to hold a laptop for days and even copy its entire contents. The UK government has given its agents authority to search computers at its borders for pornography. But in what may be the most baffling and cumbersome move of all, the US, Canada, UK, and other EU nations are working behind closed doors on a new trade agreement which could turn border agents into the copyright police.
A four-page draft document [PDF] proposing the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) was leaked to the press this week which show plans for the creation of an international copyright regulator with its enforcement arm as each nation's border patrols. Guards and security personnel would be authorized to search electronic devices for any content that "infringes" on copyright laws, whether the copies are from legally purchased CDs or DVDs or not, and decide on the spot which content is infringing. The officials would be given authority to take action without any formalized complaint from the rights holders and without a lawyer present on behalf of the accused. The draft allows for the confiscation or destruction of any device the agents deem suspect.
The ACTA specifically calls for the coalition to operate outside the WTO and UN by forming its own governing body overseen by member nations. While the document is still in draft form, there is little reason to believe the actual agreement won't follow the draft's recommendations. Without public scrutiny or comment, the member states will have no impetus for transparency.
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What body should these concerns be brought to in order to institute change? Some civil liberties organization?
thats so lame, this basically gives the security people full acsess to any thing on your computer, which now adays is part of a persons life and has sooo much info, and it would take forever.
from Boston, Massachusetts
So lets say I copy a Game CD (I bought) onto my $2000 laptop because I did not want to bring the disc with me on vacation, and cross into Canada. The nice boarder people look on my computer decide I illegally downloaded that disc and what? I no longer own a laptop? What happened to due process? And don't go telling me an illegally downloaded CD is a threat to National security.
That's quite upsetting to say the least, but not necessarily a completely unforeseen measure.
What's this?! Can you say COMMUNISM?! Just one more stupid government program wasting our hard earned money. What's the world coming too? Just wait, next year, it'll be the right to probe our minds for information, all in the name of anti-terrorism and copyright protection over stuff that doesn't even matter... sad.
from Oxenford, QLD
Who's pushing this? The RIAA? Is it another dying grasp for the control of the pre-internet days?
Why do we continue to let governments take away our rights? I'll tell you why because we don't care about our freedom anymore. We just sit there and let the government walk all over us. You people disgust me for not really caring about what the government has been doing to our privacy since 9/11.
Where are the privacy rights? Will people's work be searched through and stolen. I don't think that the world will benefit from this. Only the governments will get extra cash by placing fees and violations. Big Brother is becoming bigger every second. We must end these unnecessary acts before it gets out of hand. Britain already has a tight security with all the cameras posted throughout the country and each of its cities.
Where are the privacy rights? Will people's work be searched through and stolen. I don't think that the world will benefit from this. Only the governments will get extra cash by placing fees and violations. Big Brother is becoming bigger every second. We must end these unnecessary acts before it gets out of hand. Britain already has a tight security with all the cameras posted throughout the country and each of its cities.
Where are the privacy rights? Will people's work be searched through and stolen.
I don't think that the world will benefit from this. Only the governments will get extra cash by placing fees and violations. Big Brother is becoming bigger every second. We must end these unnecessary acts before it gets out of hand.
Britain already has a tight security with all the cameras posted throughout the country and each of its cities.
What is with this corrupt and nosy world we live in? Will people's work be searched through and stolen. I don't think that the world will benefit from this. Only the governments will get extra cash by placing fees and violations. Big Brother is becoming bigger every second. We must end these unnecessary acts before it gets out of hand. Britain already has a tight security with all the cameras posted throughout the country and each of its cities.
The Goverment just want to make the public unhappy.
Now would be a VERY good time to learn about File Encryption and Hidden Folder programs. Ultimate Anonymity ( http://www.Ultimate-Anonymity.com ) offers some really good tool for such cases.
Before departure, simply put all your "sensitive" files in a single compressed/encrypted file and then store it somewhere on the internet. Upon arrival, download the whole thing. End of the story.
from houston, texas
This is ridiculous, so they can decide to just search your computer go through any documents on there privacy be damned, copy anything they want..destroy what they want and then destroy your property..that isnt anything to do with security..thats all about control, control of a people..of an individual..control of every aspect of that individuals rights, they already have the power to search bank accounts, financial records, work records, now they can destroy your physical property for whatever reason they want and you have no recourse??..wow...it all keeps reminding me of the book 1984.
I wonder how long people will stand for this, have we really become such sheep?? are we not going to fight for our rights anymore?? the people for every so-called democratic country should rise up and fight these things
from Ojai, California
So... moral of this story is to encrypt your data before you take a plane? Good job, pass a law so you can waste time and money ticking off random people.
Y'all as ticked about this as I am? do what I'm doing in this democracy- contact your elected officials. I'm writing an email to Russ Feingold as i post this.
from Winnipeg, Manitoba
Heres one thing the Engineers who made that material didnt think...
MAKE EVERYTHING UNIQUE. If its a computer, have all the binary completly given a randomization however keeping a character frequency applied, therefore having an understood language for the OS but completly its own. CD's Are a Waste of Plastic. We are going Digital people. Get a USB stick, or what ever you want to call it.
This is all terrorist falt! I know it's stupid that these people are looking in our laptops and all but atleast they'll stop terrorist from coming and highjacking the planes and killing all the people on them.