Originally Posted by Mutt

Will secret copyright treaty restrict your digital rights?

What has been leaked is disturbing. Some reports state that customs officials at international borders would be empowered to search the contents of your laptop, cell phone, and iPod under the pretense that they're looking for ripped or downloaded music and videos, with confiscation of your devices as a potential penalty. Others state that Internet providers would be required to look through the data traveling over their networks for illegal transmission of copyrighted material. Various officials have denied both claims as being part of outdated drafts of the treaty—but obviously, without access to the text of the treaty and with no news of the negotiations, there’s no way to confirm any of this without waiting for a fait accompli announcement.

Civil libertarians (a group of which I’m a member) are disturbed by the treaty for obvious reasons, but there’s another issue at work here which should be of interest to anyone who uses a computer or the Internet. There are many people in media industries and law enforcement who think it would be much easier to police the world, if only there were One True Digital Rights Management Scheme to keep people from copying data they shouldn’t.

http://www.macworld.com/article/1439...ta_treaty.html