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Executive Agreements

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Destroyers for Bases - Roosevelt, U.S. / Churchill, U.K., 1940
In the Summer of 1940, World War II had once begun and nations were heading toe-to-toe with each other. Japan had not yet attracted Pearl Harbor and America had yet to enter the war. However, the war had already declared its axis and allies, with the United Kingdom knowing who their [unofficial] allies were if need be--the United States of America. Germany had attacked the United Kingdom, hindering Winston Churchill to reevaluate his strategies. With London being attacked and Churchill on the brinks of becoming broken down, along with a diminishing number of warships, Churchill reached out to the United States’ President, Franklin D. Roosevelt in an act of near white flag. The reason, to make a deal with the United States for fifty of the retired World War I warships no longer in use. Forgoing consent with Congress, with quick reply and leveraging Churchill’s plead, knowing he had Churchill respectfully cornered, President Roosevelt requested the control of most of the United Kingdom’s bases in the West, Gulf Coast, and Eastern United States’ borders for a 99-year lease on each base in exchange for the warships. On August 30, 1940, President Roosevelt signed the destroyers for bases executive agreement to exchange 50 aged warships for control of a handful of U.K. owned naval and air war bases. Though Churchill agreed to partake in this "last chance of survival" agreement to trade the United Kingdom's naval and air bases with the United States for their aged and noncommissioned warships, and with U.S. citizens praising this executive agreement, Congress was not pleased with President Roosevelt overstepping international neutrality. An investigation was conducted by the Supreme Court for unconstitutional abuse of the presidential power, however, the Supreme Court reasoned that President Roosevelt acted within powers delegated to the executive office via the United States Constitution, which was the office he currently held. This action of swift agreement with an allied nation allowed the United States to become more powerful internationally, gave the U.S. unforeseen leverage in war unknown soon to enter, and aided in the forging of a soon to be alignment with the United Kingdom and Winston Churchill during World War II and thereafter.

Anti-Counterfeit Trade Agreement - Obama, U.S. / European Union, et. al., 2011
With the rise of modern Internet and its vast user generated content stemming from the late 1990’s, users internationally have been given access to information and content in a way never before seen in global technology and communication. For much of the Internet’s life, there had been little to no surveillance of content and its source (unless containing information about physical harmful to a subject). In the late 1990’s, many people and professionals assumed the Internet was going to be a fad, much in the like of the Pet Rock, and did not vest much effort in censoring its content and its authors. In the contrary, the Internet became the source of international information and communication, withstanding criticism and global hardships.

Seeing that the Internet was here to stay as an international tool and resource of communication with billions of users and content contributors, professionals, businessmen, and politicians soon began to take note of the infringement and spread of copyrighted material (i.e.: songs, movies/videos, images, etc.). With this notion, professionals began to lobby for internet censorship. With SOPA and PIPA being proposed in legislation with Congress, many professionals began to have hope with content censorship. However, these two pieces of legislations were failed in Congress and currently (as of October 2018) going through reforms. With lobbyist pushing for change, congressmen and the Obama administration sought out possibilities to make a change Constitutionally over the “illegal” spread of copyrighted material.

With this cause of action beginning to take shape, not only within the American government, yet globally, the European Union began discussions on a global plurilateral agreement in 2008. After numerous ratifications, changes, and revisions beginning later in 2008, the Council of the European Union ultimately supported a resolution in backing the Anti-Counterfeit Trade Agreement on September 25, 2008. Once this ratification was signed, other countries began to take notice of this issue on a deeper notion, and in the early days of July 2012, without the consent of the Mexican Senate, a Mexican ambassador became the first to sign the agreement on behalf of a country. Other countries decided to withhold their signature upon further inspection at the agreement and with the EU.

Along with other global leaders from numerous countries including Japan and Canada, President Obama signed the Anti-Counterfeit Trade Agreement, a highly controversial trade executive agreement, against the objections from Congress and the American people at a signing ceremony in Tokyo on October 1, 2011. This international agreement is deemed to make a compromise on copyrights. Though objectively this agreement seems appropriate on paper, to the common internet user, this is the opposite. A.C.T.A. allows governments to regulate ISPs (Internet Service Provider) and require them to inspect every piece of digital content entering and leaving domains, checking for the slightest particle of copyrighted material: Songs in YouTube videos, pictures on Instagram, and even Tweets on Twitter containing wording copyrighted via another entity. When a piece of copyrighted material is found, the ISP is required to report the documentation and findings to officials, with the possibility of the content creator facing legal consequences in the like of fines and/or imprisonment.

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