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ACM Washington Update 1.7
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ACM WASHINGTON UPDATE
U.S. Office of Public Policy of the
Association for Computing
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November 14, 1997
Volume 1.7
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CONTENTS
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INTRODUCTION
USACM ACTIVITIES
USACM Signs Amicus Brief in Cryptography Case
Leading US Science Groups Protest Crypto Restrictions
USACM Meets With Congressional Staff
USACM To Sponsor ACM Policy 98 Conference
POLICY BRIEFS
Congress To Re-Think U.S. Science Policy
New Net Decency Bill Introduced in Senate
Copyright Legislation Introduced
NRC Solicits Comments on Information Literacy
Proposed Database Protection Legislation
National Research Investment Act of 1998 Introduced
Digital Signatures Discussed in Congressional Committees
Federal Involvement Seen as Crucial to Science Education Reform
President's Commission Releases Infowar Report.
Nominations and New Appointments
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INTRODUCTION
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The Association for Computing is an international professional society
whose 75,000 members (60,000 in the U.S.) represent a critical mass of
computer scientists in education, industry, and government. The USACM
provides a means for promoting dialogue on technology policy issues with
United States policy makers and the general public. The WASHINGTON UPDATE
will report on activities in Washington which may be of interest to those
in the computing and information policy communities and will highlight
USACM's involvement in many of these issues.
To subscribe to the ACM WASHINGTON UPDATE send an e-mail to
[email protected] with "subscribe WASHINGTON-UPDATE" (no quotes) in the body
of the message. Back issues are available at
http:/www.acm.org/usacm
For information about joining the Association for Computing, see:
http://www.acm.org/membership/join.html
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ACM POLICY 98 CONFERENCE
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ACM POLICY '98
"Shaping Policy in the Information Age"
May 10-12, 1998
Washington Renaissance Hotel
Washington, DC
+ Electronic Commerce
+ Intellectual Property
+ Learning Online
+ Universal Service
Sponsored by USACM in cooperation with
SIGCAS, SIGGRAPH, and SIGCHI.
For Conference and Registration information see:
http://www.acm.org/usacm/events/policy98/
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USACM ACTIVITIES
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USACM SIGNS AMICUS BRIEF IN CRYPTOGRAPHY CASE
USACM has joined 14 other groups and three distinguished computer security
experts and cryptographers to sign a brief on encryption submitted to the
9th Circuit Court of Appeals in the Bernstein v. State Department case. The
case challenges the constitutionality of export controls of encryption. In
a lower court decision issued in August, Judge Marilyn Patel ruled that
source code is protected by the First Amendment.
http://www.acm.org/usacm/crypto/bernstein_brief.html
LEADING U.S. SCIENCE GROUPS PROTEST CRYPTO RESTRICTIONS
On September, 24 the leading U.S. scientific, mathematics, and engineering
societies sent a
united message to Congress protesting proposed U.S. cryptography policies
that would maintain export restrictions limiting the open exchange of
scientific information and the progress of scientific research and
development. In addition, these organizations warned that new requirements
for domestic key recovery raise serious scientific and technical problems
that undermine its viability as a policy alternative. In a letter to the
House Commerce Committee, the societies indicated that the policies will
"diminish the scientific reputation of the United States and weaken us
economically."
This is the first time these highly influential societies have united to
inform Congress how cryptography policies will effect the future of
scientific research and development in the U. S. Until now, the debate
has focused on commercial, civil liberties, and national security/ law
enforcement interests. The letter urges the Committee to reject restrictive
proposals or " U.S. leadership in many areas of science and technology is
likely to be jeopardized with no discernible benefits to our National
Interests."
http://www.acm.org/usacm/crypto/societies_crypto_letter_1997.html
USACM MEETS WITH CONGRESSIONAL STAFF
On October 9 and 10, USACM Chairperson Barbara Simons met with staffers
from Sen. Boxer, Sen. Feinstein, Sen. Kerry, Rep. Eshoo, and Rep.
Campbell's offices to discuss U.S. cryptography policy. Simons discussed
both California Resolution SJR29 which sets forth the Legislature's
vigorous disagreement with the Administration's crypto export policy and
the letter from the scientific societies.
http://www.acm.org/usacm/crypto/usacm_cal_resolution.html
USACM TO SPONSOR ACM POLICY 98 CONFERENCE
USACM is sponsoring the ACM Policy '98 Conference to be held May 10-12 in
Washington DC. The purpose of the conference is to increase the influence
of computer professionals in shaping the future of computing by
establishing a discourse between computer professionals and policy makers.
ACM proposes to exert leadership in this area through USACM and SIGCAS by
bringing together relevant audiences from academia, government, industry,
and journalism. Leading experts in the field will be invited to discuss,
debate, and develop policies to manage the impact of these technologies to
produce outcomes beneficial to society. The co-chairs of the conference are
Ben Shneiderman, USACM and C. Dianne Martin, SIGCAS and the conference is
being held in cooperation with SIGCAS, SIGGRAPH, and SIGCHI.
The conference will feature discussions on Universal Access, Electronic
Commerce, Intellectual Property, and Learning Online. The panel
coordinators are USACM members David Farber, Jim Horning, Pam Samuelson,
and Chuck Brownstein.
http://www.acm.org/usacm/events/policy98/
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POLICY BRIEFS
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CONGRESS TO RETHINK U.S. SCIENCE POLICY
On Oct. 23, Congressman Vern Ehlers (R-Mich), Vice Chairman of the House
Science Committee, began an effort to redefinine U.S. Science Policy for
the next century. The project was initiated by Rep. Newt Gingrich, who
requested that the House Science Committee develop a new, post-Cold War,
paradigm for national science policy. Ehlers convened a meeting of
distinguished policy experts including the Presidents of the National
Academies of Science and Engineering; the President, Vice-President,
Chairman, plus a Senior Fellow from the Council on Competitiveness; leaders
of the Sandia and Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratories; the retired
President of Hewlett Packard Corporation; and the President of MIT.
This project offers novel opportunities for scientists and science policy
makers to be involved in the creation of a new paradigm for US science
policy. Vice Chairman Ehlers has set up a web site that will provide
information on this year-long effort and where he will solicit comments on
developing the new policy outline. First, he is planning to post a
mission/challenge statement and then will begin fashioning a draft science
policy statement. Beginning in the early summer 1998, he will hold
hearings on the statement. Subsequently, he will submit the final science
policy document and it will hopefully be adopted as a concurrent resolution
of the Congress. http://www.house.gov/science/science_policy_study.htm
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NEW NET DECENCY BILL INTRODUCED IN SENATE
Senator Dan Coates (R-IN) introduced S. 1482 on November 8. The bill
criminalizes commercial distribution of materials "harmful to minors" on
the Internet. Under the statute, commercial online distributors of
material deemed "harmful to minors" could be punished with up to six months
in jail and a $50,000 fine unless they have developed age verification or
credit card processing systems. This is a second iteration of the
Communications Decency Act which the Supreme Court held unconstitutional
this past summer.
http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/z?c105:S.1482.IS:
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COPYRIGHT LEGISLATION INTRODUCED
Sen. John Ashcroft (Mi.) has introduced Digital Copyright Clarification and
Technology Education Act of 1997, S. 1145, a comprehensive bill that
provides implementing legislation for the WIPO Copyright Treaty passed last
year. The bill contains three separate titles covering, OSP/ISP Liability,
Technology for Teachers and Librarians, and WIPO Implementation.
The OSP/ISP Liability section would clarify that merely providing network
services and facilities for transmitting an electronic communication will
not result in liability under the Copyright Act; confirm that providing a
site-linking aid, a navigational aid (including a search engine or
browser), or the tools for creating a site-linking aid will not result in
liability under the Copyright Act; clarify that Internet and on-line
service providers will not be liable for third-party copyright infringement
unless they have received notice and have a reasonable opportunity to limit
the third-party infringement; and confirm that an employee of an
educational institution, library, or archives will not be deemed to have
received notice and thus will not be required to "take down" an allegedly
infringing work if she believed the use was a fair use or otherwise lawful.
The WIPO Implementation title implements provisions of two international
copyright treaties adopted by the World Intellectual Property Organization.
The WIPO treaties oblige signatory nations to offer legal protection
against circumvention of technology intended to protect copyrighted
material against infringement, but do not require the broad prohibition of
software or devices that might be used by infringers. Section 1201 would
only create liability for a person who--for purposes of infringing a
copyrighted work--knowingly circumvents the application of an effective
anti-copying measure used to protect a work in a digital format. Section
1202 would create liability for a person who knowingly provides false
copyright management information or who removes or alters copyright
management information without the authority of the copyright owner.
http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/z?c105:S.1146:
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NRC SOLICITS COMMENTS ON INFORMATION LITERACY
The Computer Science and Telecommunications Board (CSTB) of the National
Research Council is undertaking a project "to explicate the various
dimensions of what might be called information technology (IT) literacy,
i.e., what everyone needs to know about information technology. A major
part of the project's task is to develop a consensus for the appropriate
definitions of "everyone", "know", and "information technology"." The
committee responsible for this project is chaired by Larry Snyder,
professor of computer science and engineering at the University of
Washington.
Because the subject of IT literacy is subject to many differing opinions,
the committee has developed a number of questions for which it hopes to
generate a broad response. Sets of questions have been developed for
computer and communications scientists and engineers, employers and labor
professionals, librarians, K-12 educators, and other groups. The committee
invites you to submit your answers to these questions in the form of a
short position paper. For more information, see
http://www2.nas.edu/cstbweb/549a.html
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PROPOSED DATABASE PROTECTION LEGISLATION
Chairman Coble has introduced H.R. 2652, the Collections of Information
Antipiracy Act. This database bill is designed as a misappropriation bill,
not a sui generis protection bill which had previously been proposed. In
other words, it in theory does not create a property right in the database;
it simply prohibits the unfair use of the data one has collected. As this
bill is drafted, however, there is little to distinguish it from a sui
generis protection bill.
Historically, the misappropriation approach in the U.S. is based on the
Supreme Court's holding that the state common law of misappropriation was
not preempted by the copyright law when it covered *hot news.* This
doctrine was explained in the recent NBA v. Motorola case, where the Court
listed five conditions for misappropriation not to be preempted. However,
H.R. 2652 appears far broader than the traditional misappropriation
doctrine. Significantly, traditional misappropriation is limited to time
sensitive information, while H.R. 2652 applies to all information. Also,
the definitions in the statute are extremely vague. The bill contains
several exceptions and exclusions, but they appear limited. Finally, H.R.
2652 contains civil and criminal penalties ($500,000 penalty and 10 years
in jail).
H.R. 2652 expressly does not extend to computer programs, but this
exclusion "does not apply to a collection of information directly or
indirectly incorporated in a computer program." There are numerous
interpretations to that language. For example, would a command structure
be viewed as a collection of information incorporated in a program? Or,
what about a look-up table for translation purposes? One could argue that
the phrase "collection of information ... incorporated in a computer
program" refers to information related to the application rather the
functioning of the program itself. For example, in a program designed to
determine structural stress, the engineering constants in the program would
be protected, while the interface specifications would not. This
interpretation, however, is not clear from the face of the statute.
http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/z?c105:H.R.2652:
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NATIONAL RESEARCH INVESTMENT ACT OF 1998 INTRODUCED
On November 7, Sens. Lieberman (D-Conn.) and Gramm (R-Texas) introduced S.
1305, the National Research Investment Act of 1998. The Act is designed to
reverse a downward trend in the federal government's allocation to science
and engineering research by authorizing the doubling of federal research
spending over the next ten years. According to Sen. Lieberman, "...Publicly
funded science has shown to be surprisingly important to the innovation
system. A new study prepared for the National Science Foundation found that
73 percent of the main science papers cited by American industrial patents
in two recent years were based on domestic and foreign research financed by
governments or nonprofit agencies." He continued, "Yet, despite the
demonstrated importance of publicly funded scientific research, the amount
spent on science and engineering by the Federal Government is declining.
Senator Gramm has already noted that in 1965, 5.7 percent of the Federal
budget was spent on non defense research and development. Thirty-two years
later, that figure has dropped by two-thirds to 1.9 percent."
On November 12, S. 1305, was discussed at a conference in Washington. A
member of Senator Gramm's staff indicated that passage of S. 1305 is
"going to be very difficult." That is why the Bill supports a ten
yearperiod during which federal spending on R&D will continue to grow until
it is doubled in 2008. S. 1305 differs from Gramm's previous bill because
of its bipartisan support. Having both a Democratic and a Republican
original cosponsors will help to reassure other senators.
Also participating in this session were speakers from the AAAS and the
Office of Management and Budget. AAAS recently calculated that total
federal R&D for FY 1998 increased 3.9% over last year. Basic research
support increased by 4.0% (both figures subject to change as remaining
appropriations bill are passed.) The OMB official predicted that
previously forecasted dramatic cuts in federal support for R&D seem
unlikely, as is a doubling of future federal support.
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DIGITAL SIGNATURES DISCUSSED IN CONGRESSIONAL COMMITTEES
The Senate Banking and House Science Committee held hearings on October 28
on digital signatures. The witnesses at the hearings recommended that any
bill proposed be limited in its scope. They argued that since many
companies are using digital signatures for different reasons, it would be
premature for Congress to pass far- reaching legislation. Andrew Pincus
from the Commerce Department noted "it seems unlikely that the market will
settle on one universal authentication mechanism." Senator Robert Bennett
(R-UT) announced that he is planning to introduce legislation early next
year.
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FEDERAL INVOLVEMENT SEEN AS CRUCIAL TO SCIENCE EDUCATION REFORM
Efforts are being made to improve U.S. K-12 science and math education.
An October 29 House Science Committee hearing reviewed the federal role in
improving science education and asked the question: is the federal
government coordinating its many programs for maximum effectiveness?
Committee Vice Chair Vern Ehlers (R-MI), who has run this series of
hearings, blamed the lack of a national consensus for the current
"fragmented, mile-wide and inch-deep science and math curricula" that
students face. He believes the federal government should play a role in
correcting this trend.
At an October 8 hearing in the same series, three experts in the field of
science education were invited to discuss the lessons learned from TIMMS,
the Third International Mathematics and Science Study which analyzed
international achievement in math and science at several grade levels. The
TIMMS results showed that US fourth-graders performed above the
international average in math and were second only to South Korea in
science. But by eighth grade, US students performed only slightly above
the international average in science and below the average in math. This
drop in achievement from fourth to eighth grade, said TIMMS National
Research Coordinator William Schmidt, demonstrated that "US students don't
start out behind the rest of the world, but fall behind during the middle
school years." All three witnesses attributed this failing of US math and
science education to the lack of a national consensus on what should be
taught at each grade.
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PRESIDENT'S COMMISSION RELEASES INFOWAR REPORT
The President's Commission on Critical Infrastructure Protection released
its final report on November 5. The report recommends increased spending
for computer security and training and warns that currently, most major
U.S. infrastructures which depentd on computer systems are unprotected. In
a controversial section, it recommended that key escrow/recovery systems be
adopted. The report was heavily criticized by industry representatives in
hearings before the House and Senate. USACM member Peter Neumann testified
about the report before the House Science Committee on November 6, 1997
criticizing numerous findings of the Commision..
The President's Commission on Critical Infrastructure Protection was
established in July 1996 to examine both physical and electronic cyber
threats to eight key U.S. infrastructures (energy, telecommunications,
banking and finance, transportation, gas and oil storage, water supply
systems, government services and emergency service). The Commission will
develop a comprehensive national strategy for infrastructure assurance.
The full report is available at http://www.pccip.gov
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NOMINATIONS AND NEW APPOINTMENTS
The President's National Security Telecommunications Advisory Committee was
established under Executive Order 12382 to provide the President with
technical information and advice on national security telecommunications
policy. The committee is composed of no more than 30 members who have
particular knowledge and expertise in the field of telecommunications and
who represent elements of the Nation's telecommunications industry. The
President appointed Mr. Charles R. Lee and Mr. Van B. Honeycutt to the
Committee.
The Advisory Committee on High Performance Computing and Communications,
Information Technology, and The Next Generation Internet will provide
valuable guidance and advice on all areas of high performance computing,
communications, and information technologies to the President, the Office
of Science and Technology Policy, and the Federal agencies involved in the
Computing, Information, and Communications R & D, including the Next
Generation Internet Initiative. They will also provide valuable guidance
on the Administration's efforts to accelerate development and adoption of
Information technologies that will be vital for American prosperity in the
21st century. The President announced his intent to appoint Mr. David W.
Dorman, Dr. Joe F. Thompson, Dr. Irving Wladawsky-Berger, and Dr. John P.
Miller to the Committee.
President Clinton announced his intent to appoint Dr. Jeffrey Jaffe, Mayor
Sharon Sayles Belton, Norman Mineta, and Joseph Holmes as Members to the
Advisory Committee to the President's Commission on Critical Infrastructure
Protection. The Advisory Committee, which is made up of infrastructure
industry executives and private-sector leaders will advise and support the
President's Commission on Critical Infrastructure Protection.
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Washington Update is a biweekly publication of the U.S. Public Policy
Office of the Association for Computing http://www.acm.org/usacm 666
Pennsylvania Ave., SE, Suite 302B, Washington, DC
20003. 202/298-0842 (tel), 202/547-5482 (fax).
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