Denver Direct: Why the TPP is Dangerous: Digital Privacy & Rights Under Attack
skip to main |
skip to sidebar
Wednesday, February 19, 2014
Why the TPP is Dangerous: Digital Privacy & Rights Under Attack
by Dave Felice
Dave Felice |
Negotiations over the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) are shrouded in secrecy. Despite nearly twenty rounds of negotiations, both the public and many policymakers still lack a full audit of what’s in the proposed trade pact. Rep. Alan Grayson (D-FL) provides some information; additional content is leaked from other sources. What we do know about the TPP is disturbing for many Americans.
Across the ideological spectrum, many voices are speaking out against the TPP. Even Tea Party supporters raise legitimate concerns about deficient congressional oversight over the TPP and the trade pact’s potential impact on our national sovereignty. Labor leaders note that the TPP would accelerate off-shoring trends, export jobs, and benefit corporate interests at the expense of American workers. Human rights organizations highlight how TPP would give trade benefits to Vietnam, a totalitarian nation that still uses child labor in its apparel manufacturing industry.
In Colorado and around the country, industries, from dairy to beef to sugar, worry about the long-term effects of the TPP on their American producers and workers. And from environmental groups to anti-tobacco organizations, many issue advocates fear that passing TPP would create a race to the bottom that lowers standards and undercuts progress on critical health, environmental, and safety priorities.
Alongside all of these voices and issues, we should not lose sight of how the TPP could curtail digital privacy and online freedoms. In fact, some of the same corporate backers behind the infamous Stop Online Privacy Act (SOPA) are now hoping to use the TPP to advance similar goals and restrictions – with similar consequences at stake.
Many people fervently organized against SOPA in 2011 and 2012. Opponents, including Rep. Jared Polis (D-CO), recognized that SOPA would establish a dangerous new beachhead for governments to censor technology and communications platforms. SOPA would have harmed free speech and created massive unintended consequences, while being an overly blunt instrument against the online piracy and copyright concerns that drove the legislation forward in the first place.
The TPP is set to repeat many of the same mistakes. Its worrisome details include provisions that could make downloading music a crime punishable by imprisonment. There is language which facilitates new and Draconian measures to allow Internet Service Providers to kick users off their internet connection after accusations of copyright infringement. New copyright restrictions on incidental “buffer copies” would force routine online proceedings to require licensing approval from the copyright owner and expose consumers to increased liability.
The TPP treats copyright law as a blunt instrument, neglecting to include critical limitations and exceptions to copyright, adversely impacting fair use, preservation by libraries, and translations of works into formats accessible for the disabled. Similarly, while the TPP focuses on copyright laws and patent issues, it lacks consumer protections established through intellectual property laws.
Activism against SOPA took many forms. Google, Wikipedia, and other major Internet services joined a blackout in January 2012 that helped to signal the death knell for SOPA legislation. Months of activism from an unusual mix of digital advocates, the tech community, First Amendment experts, students and everyday citizens preceded the blackout. Their education and dedication helped to sway policymakers to do the right thing.
Now, Congressman Polis leads a bipartisan group calling for greater openness of the intellectual property provisions of the TPP, saying “We must insure our trade policy is transparent and balanced.”
At a minimum, Congress should use its constitutional authority to fully and openly scrutinize the TPP. Congress must also reject efforts by the administration of Barack Obama to pursue “Fast Track” authorization to ratify the pact without legislative involvement. Absolutely critical questions about the TPP, such as what the deal would mean for digital rights and protections, must be answered before we move forward.
Dave Felice, in addition to being a Featured Contributor at Denver Direct, is a customer service technician in information technology, and a member of the Communications Workers of America (CWA) Local 7777 in Denver.
at 12:59 PM
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Post Comments (Atom)
Editor's note.
Submit for publication: I consider any emails I receive to be publishable unless otherwise indicated e.g. (FYI ONLY, DO NOT PUBLISH, NOT FOR PUBLICATION. ETC.) [email protected]
BLOG ARCHIVE
-
▼
2014 (326)-
▼
February (52)- This Just In - City Releases Documents HHNP is a P...
- Audit: Colorado agencies sitting on $25.6 million ...
- DENVER TO GAMBLE ON 4/20 - NO POT SMOKING IN PARK ...
- DEMOCRACY SCHOOL
- Marijuana much?
- Conceptual master plan of the proposed development...
- Please join us at City Loop Stakeholder/Focus Grou...
- Denver Police to Confront Pot Celebration Lawbreak...
- Mercy Killers tour
- Drink and Skate
- Developer for 9th and Colorado Blvd. Announced
- McCann Town Hall: THE MARIJUANA INDUSTRY IN DENVER...
- Why the TPP is Dangerous: Digital Privacy & Right...
- ANOTHER NAY FOR CITY LOOP
- Today's Twitter Storm to save American jobs
- "Gessler loves an audience"
- The Pirates and their clever plot to steal our Par...
- Current 1-70 expansion (the cut and cover)
- Manual High School: A Symbol of Corporate Educatio...
- CITIZENS GROUP LOBBYING - WITH BREAKFAST AND TRAIN...
- CREATIVE THINKING
- CDOT states its case for private partner on U.S. 3...
- BREAKING NEWS - TONIGHT'S (2/13) HWY 36 PRIVATIZAT...
- APOLOGY TO COMMENTERS...
- State Senator Matt Jones weighs in on US 36 and hi...
- DEATH PENALTY IN COLORADO - Panel discussion Feb 2...
- MEETUP TONIGHT - US 36 Privatization and Toll Lane...
- Walkabout - Feb 8, 2014
- Save Amtrak in Southern Colorado and add a stop in...
- Colorado Department of Transportation faces scruti...
- Town Hall Meeting - Cheesman Park Neighborhood
- Hwy 36 update
- Mark your calendar - this should be interesting
- DENVER CITY COUNCIL IN FANTASY LAND - NO POT SMOKI...
- HEADS UP ON NEW SCAM
- Copy and send this email now....
- UPDATED: We MUST stop the US 36 privatization. Col...
- US 36 Privatization 50-Year Contract to be Signed ...
- Trade Treaty Un-American
- CU Benchmarks New Developer’s Plan on "Do it Right...
- Report from the meeting of Colorado Boulevard Heal...
- Remembering "one-stop-services" for the homeless
- Long awaited...
- Denver neighborhood award goes to Park Hill delega...
- MANUAL HIGH SCHOOL TO BE CLOSED, REPLACED WITH CHA...
- Denver Mayor Hancock wants salary increases for 11...
- SUPPORT PALMER ELEMENTARY - EAT FOR CHANGE
- SPECIAL EVENTS AND PERMITS - PUBLIC MEETINGS
- COMMUNITY FORESTER WORKSHOPS
- INC ZONING AND PLANNING COMMITTEE MINUTES
- APROPOS OF NOTHING
- RESOLUTION FOR THE RIGHT OF DENVER CITIZENS TO DET...
-
CONTACT US
Got a tip? Information? Press release? Contact us by email -Editor@DenverDirect.tv
Who we are:
Editor
Gerald Trumbule
Featured Contributors
Linda Drake
CREATIVE COMMONS LICENSE
All of the work on this site, including the original YouTube videos by www.DenverDirect.tv, is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 United States License. Click on the symbol above for explanation.
0 comments:
Post a Comment