The TPP and the attack on internet freedom
The secretive and highly unpopular Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) agreement has been branded the biggest global threat to internet freedom, and for good reason.The TPP is the result of almost a decade of secret negotiations and its member nations represent 40% of the global economy and 800 million people.The TPP encompasses the economies of the United States, Canada, Australia, Singapore, Brunei, Chile, New Zealand, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, Peru and Vietnam.The TPP could bring a range of new restrictions to the internet, allowing for big multinational corporations to crack down on internet user’s freedom of speech and their right to privacy.The agreement signing has also been kept highly confidential, and the full agreement details are unlikely to be fully disclosed to the public for years to come.The supposed purpose of the TPP is to allow for greater trade between the member nations, strengthening economic ties and sustainable growth.The public has been excluded from participating in any discussions on the matter, and several leaked provisions of the agreement addressing internet freedom has many concerned.The majority of the details of the agreement that we do know point towards the agreement restricting copyright laws and censoring internet freedom.One such provision is to make revealing corporate wrongdoing “through a computer system” a crime, which spells trouble for investigative journalists and whistleblowers reporting on such activities – which is actually quite ironic considering this is how we’ve come to know any details about the TPP agreement in the first place.The TPP also outlines that internet service providers can police online activity, and cut people off from internet access for user-generated content.Another provisions is the broad ban on digital locks on devices – which could prevent disabled people from making important changes to their computers or from using different technology.So not only has the TPP censored internet freedom and tried to block sharing of information, it has also censored our right to freedom of speech and to voice our opinions on matters that will have a significant impact on our lives.If passed the deal will allow corporate tribunals to overrule Congress and violate the national sovereignty of the United States. The process will be authoritarian and not have an appeal process or exit provisions.Previously, Wikileaks released ‘leaked’ documents, including chapters on intellectual property rights (but not the full text) of a document that would affect everything from our civil liberties to biotech’s ability to legally patentyour genes.“Packaged as a gift to the American people that will renew industry and make us more competitive, the Trans-Pacific Partnership is a Trojan horse,”Zero Hedge noted on Monday. “It’s a coup by multinational corporations who want global subservience to their agenda. Buyer beware. Citizens beware.”If enacted the TPP will ultimately reduce America to third world status.The global elite and their corporatist partners are determined to impoverish humanity, consolidate wealth and power and reinvent and modernize the feudal system o...