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Internet freedoms restrained - SOPA/PIPA/OPEN/ACTA/CETA/PrECISE-related updates
Stoic Joker:
US politics are a complete mystery to me.-IainB (October 18, 2013, 06:19 AM)
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Don't feel bad, we can't figure them out either. Best I can tell it's a lot like bobbing for apples that are floating in a tank of flaming gasoline ... You can't win without getting burned.
TaoPhoenix:
^^ I don't really understand what you wrote there @TaoPhoenix...
-IainB (October 18, 2013, 06:19 AM)
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Just that fiery words mean something different from anyone not in the country.
Because it's a not dis-similar brand of fiery words that got us to the shutdown mess.
Someone noticed that there's at least a semi-permanent biological flaw at least in US voters that rewards certain disastrous but "strong" phrasing. So right now we're stuck with a strange version of something like Tragedy of the Commons where these critters keep getting re-elected. That was supposed to be the brilliant innovation of the founding gang, but apparently a billion dollar super-PAC can finally knock out that balance checker.
I still stand by my Political-App thread that no one commented on. We're too slow for both 2014 and 2016. But from 2020 on, it's the future of politics. Aka the day social media stops being Farmville and cats and suddenly 188 politicians find themselves out of a job *on the same day*.
"Shutdown, huh? Oops. Watch this!"
But it only works once.
IainB:
OIC, I think.
I wonder whether all this focus on the short-term potential gains of SOPA/PIP/etc. by lobbies/interested parties hasn't blinded some of them to the risks of losing the long game.
We shall see.
I am seriously concerned that US pressures are likely to screw up the Internet for everyone else and that it could become just another tool for US economic hegemony/colonisation.
J-Mac:
OIC, I think.
I am seriously concerned that US pressures are likely to screw up the Internet for everyone else and that it could become just another tool for US economic hegemony/colonisation.
-IainB (October 18, 2013, 10:03 AM)
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Which is pretty damn close to what we have now....
Jim
IainB:
The US government/corporate lobbies really do seem most determined about forcing an agreement on TPP. I wonder why? :tellme:
(Copied below sans embedded hyperlinks/images.)
US Fails To Close TPP Deal As Wikileaks Exposes Discord - Forbes
12/10/2013 @ 9:28AM
Emma Woollacott, Contributor - I cover the control of content on the internet.
The latest round of talks over the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) have failed to lead to a resolution, with ministers confirming that debate is likely to continue into next year.
The announcement comes as Wikileaks releases an internal memo and spreadsheet, revealing that the US is putting heavy pressure on other nations to conform with its demands.
Cropped picture of Joseph Stiglitz, U.S. econo...
Joseph Stiglitz, U.S. economist. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Following four days of talks in Singapore, the heads of the various delegations have today released a statement saying that while they’ve identified what they call “potential landing zones” for the areas that remain contentious, they have failed to reach a resolution as hoped.
“Therefore, we have decided to continue our intensive work in the coming weeks toward such an agreement,” they say. “We will also further our consultations with stakeholders and engage in our respective political processes. Following additional work by negotiators, we intend to meet again next month.”
The statement coincides with the release of two more documents from Wikileaks which reveal just how far apart the US is from the other nations involved in the treaty, with 19 points of disagreement in the area of intellectual property alone. One of the documents speaks of “great pressure” being applied by the US.
Australia in particular is standing firm, objecting to the US’ proposals for copyright protection, parallel importation proposals and criminalization of copyright infringement. It’s also opposed to a measure supported by all the other nations involved to limit the liability of ISPs for copyright infringement by their users. Japan, too – which only joined the talks in March – has vowed to protect its agricultural markets, which the US wishes to see opened up.
But the TPP is causing increasing disquiet in the US, as well as around the world. Over the weekend, campaign group Knowledge Ecology International (KEI) revealed that Nobel prize-winning economist Joseph Stiglitz of the Columbia University School of Business has written to the negotiators, calling on them to resist a tranche of measures that he says would weaken the 2001 Doha Declaration on TRIPS and Public Health.
These include extending patent terms and lowering the threshold for patentability of medicines, making surgical procedures patentable and mandating monopolies of 12 years on test data for biologic drugs. He also objects to the granting of compulsory licenses on patents, increasing damages for patent and copyright infringement, placing lower limits on injunctions, narrowing copyright exceptions and extending copyright protection to life plus 70 years.
“The TPP proposes to freeze into a binding trade agreement many of the worst features of the worst laws in the TPP countries, making needed reforms extremely difficult if not impossible,” he writes.
His sentiments are echoed by 29 organizations and more than 70 other individuals in a separate letter.
“The primary harm from the life + 70 copyright term is the loss of access to countless books, newspapers, pamphlets, photographs, films, sound recordings and other works that are ‘owned’ but largely not commercialized, forgotten, and lost,” they say. “The extended terms are also costly to consumers and performers, while benefiting persons and corporate owners that had nothing to do with the creation of the work.”
The failure of the talks to reach agreement is a major blow for the US, which hoped to see the deal largely wrapped up by now. The ministers say they’ll meet again next month, but haven’t set any new timeline for completion. And with many of the outstanding issues having been aired for months, it’s hard to see how full agreement will be reached any time soon.
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