After all the controversy and agitation surrounding the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) and Protect IP Act (PIPA) and all the protests that it triggered from the various popular websites, they were finally stalled. They are now as good as dead within the walls of the U.S. Congress. But while one of the problems have been dealt with, there is a new one which poses to be a bigger threat than the previous two acts.

This is how U.S. Rep Darrel Issa. R. – Calif, has explained the new Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement Act, also known as ACTA. He stated,

“As a member of Congress, it’s more dangerous than SOPA. It’s not coming to me for a vote. It purports that it does not change existing laws. But once implemented, it creates a whole new enforcement system and will virtually tie the hands of Congress to undo it.”

He also added that the ACTA is comparatively much more dangerous to SOPA & PIPA, owing to the fact that the Congress is unable to change it.

Issa goes on to add that unlike the SOPA & PIPA which are bills that were initiated in the Congress, ACTA is a global that has far-reaching effects in an attempt to strengthen protection for copyright  content as well as intellectual property across all nations that are ready to participate in the Act. This Act, also includes offline issues like counterfeiting in materials like pharmaceuticals. While it has still not been clarified whether the ACTA is as enforcing as the SOPA was, the fact still remains that there are many implied similarities between the ACTA & SOPA.

Countries that have already signed up with ACTA include Poland, Italy, France, Singapore, Japan, South Korea, Switzerland as well as the U.S.A.