Change Watch: U.S. trying to cram DRM rules down the world's throats

The ardor of the romance between the Obama administration and big business is undiminished, their latest tryst occurring in secret at negotiations on the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement to adopt a copyright treaty that US corporations hope will bring oppressive American-style copyright rules (and worse) to the whole world.

Particularly disturbing is the growing support for "three-strikes" copyright rules that would disconnect whole families from the Internet if one member of the household was accused (without proof) of copyright infringement. The other big US agenda item is cramming pro-Digital Rights Management (DRM) rules down the world's throats that go way beyond the current obligations under the UN's WIPO Copyright Treaty. In the US version, breaking DRM is always illegal, even if you're not committing any copyright violation -- so breaking the DRM on your iPad to install software you bought from someone who hasn't gone through the Apple approval process is illegal, even though the transaction involves no illicit copying.

. -- Latest leaked draft of secret copyright treaty: US trying to cram DRM rules down the world's throats by Cory Doctorow (Boing Boing 2010-09-06).

See, also: Unintended Consequences: Twelve Years under the DMCA (Electronic Frontier Foundation 2010-03).