Maira Sutton
EFF
When most people think of a trade agreement, they’re unlikely to think that it would have anything to do with regulating the Internet. For more than a decade, however, the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative has included copyright enforcement in international trade deals. Such provisions empower countries to enact digital restrictions in the name of preventing illegal file sharing. In practice, these copyright measures strip Internet users of their rights to privacy, free speech, and access to knowledge and culture, and could even work to undermine their very purpose of enabling and promoting innovation and creativity.
Such provisions closely mirror the language carried in the U.S. Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA). Up to this point, we have already seen over 15 years of harmful effects due to the DMCA and now there are widespread efforts in the U.S. to reform it. It’s therefore both improper and contradictory for the U.S. Trade Rep to push the U.S. copyright system around the world when our own government recognizes that our system is defective.
This new animated video explains how two provisions of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) agreement’s intellectual property chapter threaten users’ rights.
Please share this video, spread the word about this secretive multinational trade agreement, and let others know how they can help fight it.
Take Action
You can express your concern about these problems — and others — that arise from a secret copyright agenda driving international agreements by signing our petition to stop it.
Wherever you are in the world, you can sign on to this petition directed at decision-makers to demand a Fair Deal.
If you’re in the U.S., take action to send a message to your representative to demand an end to these secret backroom negotiations.
If you’re in Peru, join Hiperderecho and tell the Peruvian president that our rights on the Internet are non-negotiable.
Spread the Word
Our website “Why the Heck Should I Care About the TPP?” lays out some of the worst consequences for Internet users if this agreement were to pass.
Share our infographic about the TPP! We have versions in both English and Spanish.
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