Is ACTA only the first step towards limiting Internet freedom?

Nowadays the Internet turned from only connecting people to changing regimes, influencing politics.

In 1995, only 16 million people used the Internet worldwide. In 2011 there were more than two billion connected and the number is constantly growing. More and more people have access to information, on line resources, more and more people can make their voice heard through the internet. Also the number of cyber crimes increased. For example in 2010 the number cyber crimes increased by 93% compared with 2009 and in the first quarter of 2011, the number climbed to 80 attacks per day (according to Symantec). But that is not the only problem internet users have to face. There is also the issue of counterfeit products and goods that found their way through the internet.

All these factors made the leaders of the world think and come up with ideas. Some of these ideas raised a lot of concerns among some countries as they might be facing terrible losses.

ACTA has been in the headlines for quite some time, but ACT seems to be only a step towards a more complicated process of “international control over the Internet” (V.Putin , June 2011).

On the On Feb. 27 in Geneva, Switzerland, a diplomatic process will start that might end up with a treaty regulating United Nations’ control over the Internet. Russia and China together with 193 member states of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) are planning to renegotiate the 1988 treaty. Proposals for renegotiations include: international control over cyber security and data privacy, foreign phone companies to be allowed to charge fees for "international" Internet traffic, economic regulations for currently unregulated traffic-swapping agreements, regulations for the international mobile roaming rates and practices and the list goes on.

If adopted, these kind of regulations will not only generate revenue for the state owned phone and internet providing companies but they will also give unprecedented control over the freedom of speech, right of privacy and resources for information.

So, is it ACTA only a first step towards a more complicated process that is revealing now?