A coalition of Internet advocates launched a campaign Wednesday against Canada's participation in closed-door trade talks that could force Canada to impose draconian restrictions on Internet users.
The coalition, which includes Vancouver's OpenMedia.ca, is calling on the Canadian government to lift the veil of secrecy around negotiations in the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) agreement and to defend Canada's sovereignty over Internet laws in this country.
"You could end up getting fined just for clicking on the wrong link," said Steve Anderson, founder of OpenMedia.ca, which has been joined by the Electronic Frontier Foundation, the U.S. digital rights group Public Knowledge, the Council of Canadians, the global consumer advocacy group SumOfUs.org, the software company Tucows, the Chilean public interest group ONG Derechos Digitales and the Washington, D.C.-based watchdog group Public Citizen.
"Your Internet access could be terminated; your own content could be removed from the Web and you may not have access to the kind of online material you have now.
"I think if this goes through a lot of people will be looking over their shoulder and they'll be very nervous about what they click on. If you click and end up downloading something that is covered by copyright, you could be dragged into court."
Canada was a late entry into the TPP negotiations, only invited to join last week by U.S. President Barack Obama. The cost of its entry included what Michael Geist, Canada Research Chair in Internet and ecommerce law at the University of Ottawa, describes as "secondtier status," with Canada bound by terms already agreed to among the TPP partners.
"As it stands now in the draft that has been leaked and the goals of the United States, there is no question it would require a number of changes to the [copyright] legislation Canada has just now enacted and the government has spent the better part of two years claiming it strikes the right balance," said Geist.
He said Canada's entry into the agreement leaves Canadians liable for conditions they know nothing about.
"Just by entering into discussions we have effectively agreed to a number of conditions the government hasn't even told us about."
According to the leaked document, commercial and noncommercial copyright infringement would be treated alike when it comes to damages, putting ordinary Canadians at risk of much higher damages.
"It means the liability risks would increase absolutely," said Geist.
The leaked agreement also extends the term of copyright in Canada from its current 50 years after the death of an author of literary and artistic work to 70 years, the term used by the U.S. and some other countries.
"The effect, if they were to extend the term in Canada would be to literally lock down the public domain in Canada for the next 20 years," said Geist, adding a number of works, from ones by Marshall McLuhan to Glenn Gould, are scheduled to come into the public domain in the next 20 years.
Anderson said Canada's compliance with an agreement that is driven by a strong entertainment industry lobby could limit the growth of this country's digital economy.
"This creates a much more paranoid atmosphere around the Internet," he said.
Geist said since Canada already has trading agreements with four - U.S., Mexico, Peru and Chile - of the 10 participants in the TPP, there is little economic advantage to be gained by joining the TPP.
He suggested Canada is pursuing the negotiations as a back-door approach to making major domestic legislative reforms that would be politically risky for the government in the face of considerable opposition among Canadians.
Original Article
Source: vancouver sun
Author: Gillian Shaw
The coalition, which includes Vancouver's OpenMedia.ca, is calling on the Canadian government to lift the veil of secrecy around negotiations in the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) agreement and to defend Canada's sovereignty over Internet laws in this country.
"You could end up getting fined just for clicking on the wrong link," said Steve Anderson, founder of OpenMedia.ca, which has been joined by the Electronic Frontier Foundation, the U.S. digital rights group Public Knowledge, the Council of Canadians, the global consumer advocacy group SumOfUs.org, the software company Tucows, the Chilean public interest group ONG Derechos Digitales and the Washington, D.C.-based watchdog group Public Citizen.
"Your Internet access could be terminated; your own content could be removed from the Web and you may not have access to the kind of online material you have now.
"I think if this goes through a lot of people will be looking over their shoulder and they'll be very nervous about what they click on. If you click and end up downloading something that is covered by copyright, you could be dragged into court."
Canada was a late entry into the TPP negotiations, only invited to join last week by U.S. President Barack Obama. The cost of its entry included what Michael Geist, Canada Research Chair in Internet and ecommerce law at the University of Ottawa, describes as "secondtier status," with Canada bound by terms already agreed to among the TPP partners.
"As it stands now in the draft that has been leaked and the goals of the United States, there is no question it would require a number of changes to the [copyright] legislation Canada has just now enacted and the government has spent the better part of two years claiming it strikes the right balance," said Geist.
He said Canada's entry into the agreement leaves Canadians liable for conditions they know nothing about.
"Just by entering into discussions we have effectively agreed to a number of conditions the government hasn't even told us about."
According to the leaked document, commercial and noncommercial copyright infringement would be treated alike when it comes to damages, putting ordinary Canadians at risk of much higher damages.
"It means the liability risks would increase absolutely," said Geist.
The leaked agreement also extends the term of copyright in Canada from its current 50 years after the death of an author of literary and artistic work to 70 years, the term used by the U.S. and some other countries.
"The effect, if they were to extend the term in Canada would be to literally lock down the public domain in Canada for the next 20 years," said Geist, adding a number of works, from ones by Marshall McLuhan to Glenn Gould, are scheduled to come into the public domain in the next 20 years.
Anderson said Canada's compliance with an agreement that is driven by a strong entertainment industry lobby could limit the growth of this country's digital economy.
"This creates a much more paranoid atmosphere around the Internet," he said.
Geist said since Canada already has trading agreements with four - U.S., Mexico, Peru and Chile - of the 10 participants in the TPP, there is little economic advantage to be gained by joining the TPP.
He suggested Canada is pursuing the negotiations as a back-door approach to making major domestic legislative reforms that would be politically risky for the government in the face of considerable opposition among Canadians.
Source: vancouver sun
Author: Gillian Shaw
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