POTGIESSER
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Registered: 06-04 |
http://www.canada.com/theprovince/s...00-f237e9c23a9d
OTTAWA -- The federal government is secretly negotiating an agreement to revamp international copyright laws that could make the information on iPods, laptops and other devices illegal, according to a leaked government document.
The deal could also force Internet service providers to hand over customer information without a court order.
The Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement would see Canada join the U.S. and the European Union in a coalition against copyright infringement.
Federal trade agreements do not require parliamentary approval.
Border guards and other public security personnel could become copyright police under the deal. They would be charged with checking laptops, iPods and even cellphones for content that "infringes" on copyright laws, such as ripped-off CDs and movies.
The guards would determine what infringes copyright.
The agreement says any copied content would be open for scrutiny -- even if it was copied legally.
"This will end up in the Supreme Court of Canada, if it goes forward," Darrell Evans, executive-director of the B.C. Freedom of Information and Privacy Association, said yesterday.
"Under the constitution, everyone has the right to be secure against unreasonable search and seizure.
"Where you draw the line to protect copyright is very dangerous. This would give security people, who could be designated as any policeman, more licence to pry into your data.
"If you're carrying a laptop in a cafe, a cop could look at it."
Beau Hunter, a director of IPSA International in Vancouver, which investigates the theft of intellectual property, applauded the news.
"Canadian laws are very lax," said Hunter. "Piracy results in lost revenues and jobs. The agreement would be a tool to punish folks for piracy."
People using their computers at downtown Vancouver coffee bars yesterday were skeptical of the government's motives.
"How are they justifying this?" asked Marc Terrien, 24, of Vancouver, a Simon Fraser University communications student.
"There is a need to preserve people's rights and not infringe on their privacy.
"This will make people not only fear the government, but question their motives."
Ryan Lam, 25, of Vancouver, another SFU student said: "Obviously, it's bad for any citizen because it's an invasion of our privacy.
"Of course, we want to keep things that are in our computers to ourselves and it's not for other people, especially the government.
"In a way, we live in a surveillance society already where our computers are monitored, phone lines are tapped. We don't need extra laws to further enhance their capabilities of surveillance.
"These extra powers would not be good for citizens. It's a bad idea."
The ACTA discussion paper was leaked online by Sunshine Media, which runs Wikileaks.org, a whistleblowing website created to help circulate secret documents.
Michael Geist, Canada research chairman of Internet and e-commerce law at the University of Ottawa and an expert on Canadian copyright law, blasted the government for advancing ACTA with little public consultation.
Details of ACTA's plans would not need to be leaked online if the process were open and transparent, Geist said.
In October, International Trade Minister David Emerson said Canada would help create ACTA.
"We are seeking to counter global piracy and counterfeiting more effectively," Emerson said at the time.
The new agreement will likely be tabled at July's meeting of G8 nations in Tokyo.
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05-27-08 20:49 
