SOPA, PIPA AND ACTA

                                        



















What is SOPA, PIPA and ACTA


SOPA


The Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) is a United States bill introduced by U.S. Representative Lamar S. Smith (R-TX) to expand the ability of U.S. law enforcement to fight online trafficking in copyrighted intellectual property and counterfeit goods. Provisions include the requesting of court orders to bar advertising networks and payment facilities from conducting business with infringing websites, and search engines from linking to the sites, and court orders requiring Internet service providers to block access to the sites. The law would expand existing criminal laws to include unauthorized streaming of copyright material, imposing a maximum penalty of five years in prison.







PIPA

The PROTECT IP Act (Preventing Real Online Threats to Economic Creativity and Theft of Intellectual Property Act, or PIPA) is aproposed law with the stated goal of giving the US government and copyright holders additional tools to curb access to "rogue websites dedicated to infringing or counterfeit goods", especially those registered outside the U.S.
The Act protects individual privacy by requiring, in most cases, private-sector organizations to obtain consent for the collection, use and disclosure of personal information and providing individuals with a right of access to their own personal information.


    What Happens if PIPA is Passed?

• PIPA contains provisions that will allow the federal government to have an unconstitutional amount of power in regards to censoring Americans’ access to the internet.
• All websites on the internet will be liable for content added by users – comments, status updates, etc.
• Social media networks like Facebook could face prosecution over content uploaded by users.
• The Federal Government could forcibly require that Internet Service Providers (ISPs) block websites deemed as “enablers” of copyright infringement.

ACTA

The Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) is a draft plurilateral agreement for the purpose of establishing international standards for intellectual property rights enforcement. The agreement aims to establish an international legal framework for targeting counterfeit goods, generic medicines and copyright infringement on the Internet, and would create a new governing body outside existing forums, such as the World Trade Organization, the World Intellectual Property Organization, or the United Nations.