Bills like ACTA (Anti-Counterfeit Trade Act) and PIPA (Protect IP Act) should not be enacted - Research Paper Example

of the of the Concerned History and Political Science 15 May Bills Like ACTA (Anti-Counterfeit Trade Act) and PIPA (Protect IP Act) should not be Enacted In the current times with the onset of IT revolution, the world has become one global village (Halal 11). Any legislative or statutory arrangement like ACTA or PIPA that tends to curb the unbiased flow of goods and services and a free flow of knowledge and information needs to be curbed and stopped from being enacted (Mehra 12). Though ACTA discernibly intends to protect the intellectual property rights, in spirit it happens to be preferential and curbs the human rights and the right to free expression of the free citizens (Dames 26).

ACTA will encourage and abet a culture of surveillance that will infringe upon the privacy of common people (The Daily Mail 47). ACTA is bound to give way to legal measures and standards that will be totally contrary to the ideals of a democratic exchange of ideas, free markets and the respect for civil liberties (Manila Bulletin 27). The same stands to be true for the PIPA. Professedly the PIPA intends to extend teeth to the US government and various copy right holders to tame the websites dealing in counterfeit goods (Ponder 3).

However, in its practical ramifications, PIPA could well be expected to curb entrepreneurial ingenuity and the freedom of speech (Gattuso B03). This bill is also bad in the sense that it restraints the consumer right to avail the best products and services at the most affordable prices (Sotonoff 11). Conclusively speaking, bills like ACTA and PIPA are anachronistic in their essence and should not be enacted. Works Cited“Curbing the Internet is an Assault on our Freedom”. The Daily Mail 30 January 2012: 47. Print. Dames, K Matthew.

“Occupy Copyright”. Information Today January 2012.:26. Print.“Draft Trade Agreement Worries Technology Firms”. Manila Bulletin 24 April 2010 : 27. Print. Gattuso, James. “Mutiny over Online Piracy”. The Washington Times 19 January 2012: B03. Print. Halal, William E. “The Information Technology Revolution”. The Futurist 26. 4 (1992). 10-11. Print. Mehra, Achal. Free Flow of Information. New York: Greenwood Press, 1986. Print. Ponder, Hal. “Anti-Piracy Legislation Closer to Passage”.

International Musician 110. 1 (2012): 3. Print. Sotonoff, Jamie. “Suburban Bloggers Worry about Piracy Legislation”. Daily Herald 19 January 2012: 11. Print.