Canadian officials are taking part in negotiations
for a top-secret copyright treaty that could see families barred from
the Internet for a year if someone in the household is suspected of
illegal downloads.
Under the worldwide rules of the
Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement, Internet service providers such as
Bell and Rogers in Canada would be required to become copyright police
and filter out pirated material from their networks, hand over the
identities of customers believed to be infringing copyrights and
restrict the use of identity-blocking software.
ACTA would employ
a three-strikes policy. People believed to be regularly downloading
copy-protected material, such as movie and music files, could have
their Internet connection severed for up to 12 months and forced to pay
a fine.
"It's incredibly disproportionate. Three unproven
allegations of infringement will cut off Internet service for a year
for an entire family," said Michael Geist, who holds the Canada
Research Chair in Internet and e-commerce Law at the University of
Ottawa.
"It's not based on the individual user, it's based on the
connection," added Geist, who said he has received details of the
proposals from people closely associated with drafting the agreement.
The
treaty, which is being pushed forward by the Office of the United
States Trade Representative, closely mimics the controversial Digital
Millennium Copyright Act that governs copyright issues in the U.S.
It
puts in place measures that would make it illegal for consumers to make
backup copies of DVDs or other media with built-in copy-protection
technology.
Other provisions could make information on iPods,
laptops and other personal electronic devices illegal and force
travellers to prove to border officials that the content on such
devices was acquired through legal channels.
The U.S. has been
particularly vocal about Canada's lack of copyright reform. The U.S.
Trade Representative placed Canada on its piracy "priority watch list"
earlier this year, labelling Canada a piracy haven alongside Algeria,
Indonesia, China and Russia.
After less than a week on the job,
the new U.S. ambassador to Canada, David Jacobson, scolded Canada for
what he said were lax copyright laws.
The Canadian Copyright Act
has not been amended since 1997, two years before the Napster
file-sharing site forever changed the way people obtain music and
movies online. An attempt to update the act in 2005 was abandoned, and
amendments proposed last year were stalled by a federal election.
The government now is polling citizens on copyright issues and collecting opinions on how best to amend Canadian laws.
But
the introduction of ACTA, which would force Canada to adopt
international copyright standards, would likely make those discussions
meaningless.
ACTA negotiations continue today in South Korea with
representatives from Canada, the European Commission, Japan,
Switzerland, New Zealand, Australia, Mexico, Morocco, Singapore, the
Republic of Korea and the United States.
According to the website
of the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade Canada,
participants in the talks have confirmed "their intention to conclude
the agreement as soon as possible in 2010."
Federal trade
agreements do not require parliamentary approval. Only the signature of
a government representative is needed for an agreement to be passed as
law.
According to leaked documents, ACTA would operate under a
governing body overseen by a committee of representatives from member
nations.
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