Copyright Police May Seize Laptops, MP3 Players

[Suhit Gupta]

<div class='os_post_top_link'><a href='http://www.9to5mac.com/orwellian_nightmare' target='_blank'>http://www.9to5mac.com/orwellian_nightmare</a><br /><br /></div><p><em>&quot;iPods, iPhones, laptops and other digital devices could be seized by customs officials worldwide under a new top-secret copyright policing deal being worked out between the G8 nations, reports claim. Nations including Canada, the US and various European states (including the UK, which sits on the G8) are secretly agreeing a new pan-global state police deal in which information held on iPods and other devices could be subject to investigation by customs officials tasked with a new role, as copyright police. Dubbed the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA), signatory nations will form an international coalition against copyright infringement. The deal&rsquo;s up for discussion at the next G8 meeting in Tokyo in July, It creates rules and regulations to govern private copying and copyright laws, and posits the founding of an international regulator, &ldquo;that would turn border guards and other public security personnel into copyright police,&rdquo; reports Ottawa Citizen, the National Post and other Canadian media outlets.&quot;</em></p><p><img border="1" src="http://images.thoughtsmedia.com/resizer/thumbs/size/600/dht/auto/1211972612.usr14.jpg" alt="" /></p><p>C'mon, you know you can see it now - this menacing guy who looks like he just walked off the set of Terminator could be greeting you at your friendly neighborhood airports. I understand the point the G8 is trying to make but honestly, how are they going to enforce this. The whole idea behind laptops and portable media players is to make them 'portable'. I guess you didn't know that they were portable but they are leashed within the country where you live. I honestly don't even know what to say here except that I am outraged by how ridiculous international travel has become and this will simply add on to the discomfort.</p>

[Phillip Dyson]

Honestly I think this is a back door for G8 countries to seize data devices crossing the borders. I'm sure the Justice department and DHS would both use this "creatively".

I don't think the G8 leadership is worried about whether Maroon 5 or even BMG is getting their money.

[Jason Dunn]

This is a bit...bizarre. What are they going to do, take my laptop, boot it up, and try to figure out if I own the DVDs I've ripped? :rolleyes:

[Jeremy Charette]

I'm not surprised Canada's behind this. They're the only country I've ever been to where the border guards specifically ask if you are bringing any software into the country.

This raises a larger issue of fair use. Is the RIAA going to lobby (i.e. BRIBE) that ripping CDs and DVDs you've purchased isn't fair use? Will border officials and customs officials be responsible for seizing iPods and laptops?

This has bad idea written all over it. When the RIAA and MPAA weild so much power that they can influence governments, something is seriously wrong. It needs to stop.

[Jason Dunn]

I'm not surprised Canada's behind this. They're the only country I've ever been to where the border guards specifically ask if you are bringing any software into the country.

Really? Were you carrying a large cardboard box that said "SOFTWARE" on it? :D I've been through Canada customs maybe half a dozen times a year for a decade now and I've never been asked about software. Or maybe they only ask Americans. :)

[EscapePod]

Time to dust off my "legit" copy of 1984, and see how much the script has changed.

The part that I am concerned about is that when they come across a laptop that has an encrypted hard drive, such as the one provided by the company I work for, , will they suspect the owner of some dastardly doings even more? As the ruling currently is, I'm pretty sure you "must" give up the HDD password, or face prosecution (I guess I better change my PC's HDD password to something other than "prosecuteme" -- could be a problem when I try to tell them my password).