What does ACTA mean in UNCLASSIFIED

ACTA seeks to combat commercial counterfeiting, piracy, digital copyright infringement, and other related violations of intellectual property rights.

ACTA establishes a legal framework designed to strengthen the enforcement of intellectual property rights around the world by creating standards for criminal sanctions against copyright infringers, customs procedures for goods suspected of infringing on intellectual property rights, prosecution guidelines for prosecuting such infringements in both civil and criminal courts and other measures.

The agreement was negotiated between 2006 to 2011 by several countries including Australia, Canada, Japan, Mexico, Morocco, New Zealand, Singapore, South Korea and the United States as well as private firms representing major entertainment companies such as Microsoft and Apple.

The final version of ACTA was signed on October 1st 2011 but has not yet entered into force due to ratification by individual signatories. As of 2019 only four signatories had fully ratified the agreement.

Critics have argued that ACTA raises serious privacy concerns due to its vague language which could be interpreted in ways that could encourage government monitoring or censorship of online activities with few safeguards or oversight mechanisms in order to protect consumers. Additionally there have also been concerns regarding how it could potentially lead to higher prices for goods including generic drugs.