The six-page summary of the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) negotiations provides little specific detail about the current state of negotiations, but the release represents a change in policy at the USTR, which had argued in the past that information on the trade pact was "properly classified in the interest of national security." ~ http://www.pcworld.com/article/162716/us_trade_office_releases_information_on_secret_piracy_pact.html
After reading this article I am quite perturbed. It is hard for me to comprehend how the United States Government can hint that counterfeiting is a threat to our national security. The next thing we know something trivial is going to be a threat to our national security and we will be wasting a few million a year writing up secret documents and policies on how to deal with them.
Although I do fully acknowledge that counterfeiting is a serious problem, I do not believe it warranted being "properly classified in the interest of national security." It just makes me wonder what else is classified that shouldn't be... Since 9/11 it seems the courts have let the executive branch do whatever it likes in saying something is classified and hardly steps in anymore. This can have a chilling effect on information flow across the globe.
