14 DAY TRIAL // Be careful what you feed that iPod from now on, as new copyright protection laws allegedly give border guards the right to seize iPods and mobile phones suspected of containing illegally-downloaded contents.
"...reports claim the Canadian government is secretly negotiating to join the US and the EU in an Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA)," reads a Macworld piece. According to the source, the deal would also see ordinary police be given the right to search one's iPod for illegally obtained files, withthe introduction of an international copyright law enforcement body. Police would even have the right to confiscate devices suspected of containing "stolen files." Luckily, "front line security staff" will decide what content actually infringes on copyright laws and what not.
This, however, would also grant authorities the right to peek at your personal stuff stored on the player's memory without a warrant, thus threatening consumer privacy, the aforementioned source notes.
David Fewer, staff counsel at the University of Ottawa's Canadian Internet Policy and Public Interest Clinic, made an interesting comparison to reveal the seriousness of the matter saying that "if Hollywood could order intellectual property laws for Christmas what would they look like? This is pretty close."
Two years ago, as many as 15 states and the District of Columbia said that digital downloads should be taxed. New Jersey, Indiana, Utah, South Dakota, Nebraska, Wisconsin and Massachusetts have since jumped on the wagon to "study" new iTunes taxes. More recently, statesmen are proposing new laws to tax digital downloads, which includes music, video, and books.
California state legislature is considering a bill that calls for new taxes to sweep in digital property. This includes, but is not limited to, music, movies, and books and it is argued that such taxes are likely to affect "everything, from electronic tax-preparation services to video games to advertising."