Internet Regulation | Can the Government Snoop Through Your Computer?

Earlier this month, the Obama administration created a stir amongst the IT community with its announcement that it would be following the same draconian policies of the Bush administration with respect to a secretive anti-counterfeiting trade agreement known as ACTA.

PC World reported that The Office of U.S. Trade Representative (USTR), part of President Barack Obama’s office, denied Knowledge Ecology Internation’s equest for information about ACTA, citing national security concerns.

With the ensuing uproar over Obama’s apparent flip-flopping over his campaign promises to ensure a more transparent government, IT World reported this week that the USTR  pledged to review the transparency of its trade negotiations.

ACTA has a broad scope and allegedly addresses counterfeit physical goods and the distribution of copyrighted works and information technology over the Internet.  Negotiations began in October 2007 between the United States, the European Community, Switzerland and Japan.  Since then, Australia, Korea, New Zealand, Jordan, Morocco, Mexico, Singapore, Canada and the United Arab Emirates have purportedly joined in the negotiaitons.  These negotiations have been held secretly.

According to a Russian news report, ACTA will contribute to a growing surveillance culture in the United States.  The government would be able to access your hard drive to see if you have engaged in peer-to-peer distribution of copyrighted material.  Border guards would have the authority to look at your laptop or other digital media to see if you have illegal downloads.

Here is Russia Today’s report:

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