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ACM WASHINGTON UPDATE
U.S. Office of Public Policy of the
Association for Computing Machinery

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October 13, 1998
Volume 2.8

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CONTENTS
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INTRODUCTION

USACM ACTIVITIES:
        Digital Millenium Copyright Act Sent To President
        USACM Urges Tabling of UCC2B Drafting Process

POLICY BRIEFS

        Compromise Reached on Increasing Visas for High-Tech Workers
        National Science Policy Report Released
        White House Announces New Crypto Export Policy
        Senate Bill to Place Moratorium on Internet Taxes
        Congress Approves Next Generation Internet Research Act
        Roving Wiretapping Provision Added to Intelligence Bill
        Appointments
        Communications of the ACM
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INTRODUCTION
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The Association for Computing Machinery is an international professional
society whose 70,000 members (55,000 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
listserv@acm.org 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 Machinery, see:
http://www.acm.org/membership/join.html

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USACM ACTIVITIES
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DIGITAL MILLENIUM COPYRIGHT ACT SENT TO PRESIDENT

On Monday October 12, The House of Representatives approved legislation to
update copyright law for digital media (H.R. 2281).  The bill will now be
sent to the White House where President Clinton is expected to sign it into
law.  The Senate approved the bill last week.

The legislation creates criminal penalties for circumventing a copyright
protection system.  The bill also forbids the manufacture, import, sale or
distribution of devices or services used for circumvention. It contains
limited exemptions for circumventing for the purposes of security testing
or encryption research.  The bill also protects Internet and online service
providers from being held liable for copyright infringements by their
customers.  A controversial provision that would have affected the exchange
and use of data and databases was removed from the bill.

The WIPO Conference Report is available at:
ftp://ftp.loc.gov/pub/thomas/cp105/hr796.txt

While the Act was being debated, ten Senators sent letters to Senate
Judiciary Committee Chairman Orrin Hatch (R-UT) supporting further open
debate on the database provision of new copyright legislation.  USACM sent
letters to those Senators thanking them for their support.  USACM also sent
a letter to the members of the joint conference committee responsible for
drafting the bill's final language. The letter focused on both the database
provision and the impacts of other provisions on encryption research and
security testing.

For more information on these letters see:
http://www.acm.org/usacm/copyright/bliley-wipo-998.html
http://www.acm.org/usacm/copyright/snowe-wipo-998.html

On September 15, 1998, presidents of many of the nation's leading science
and engineering societies warned Congress that the then pending copyright
legislation could have substantial negative impacts on the conduct of basic
research.   According to a letter sent to the Senate Commerce and Judiciary
Committees, provisions of the proposed measure "will slow the progress of
important technology developments, and reduce beneficial economic returns
of research and development to society." The societies believe that
"scientists should not be required to consult lawyers to determine if their
previously legitimate research might be in violation of the law."  The
letter identified two particularly problematic sections of the Act: the new
civil penalties for misappropriation of data and for circumventing a
copyright protection system.

The societies whose presidents signed the letter are: the American
Association for the Advancement of Science, the American Association for
Artificial Intelligence, the American Mathematical Society, the American
Statistical Association, the Association for Computing Machinery, the
Computing Research Association, the Institute for Electronics and
Electrical Engineers-USA, and the Society for Industrial and Applied
Mathematics.

The letter can be found at:
http://www.acm.org/usacm/copyright/presidents-letter-998.html

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USACM URGES TABLING OF UCC2B DRAFTING PROCESS

On October 7, USACM sent letters to Carlyle C. Ring, Jr., the Chairman of
the NCCUSL Article 2B Drafting Committee, and Professor Geoffrey Hazard,
Jr., the Director, American Law Institute urging them to table the
re-drafting of the commercial law project known as proposed Article 2B of
the Uniform Commercial Code.  The letter stated, "We know that a good deal
of work has been invested in this project and appreciate that a decision to
table a project of this magnitude is a difficult one.  However, we have
concluded that within the constraints of the present process, it is highly
unlikely that the myriad concerns raised from many sectors can be
satisfactorily resolved by a variant on the current draft."

Article 2B is intended to cover shrink-wrap or click-on licenses.  The
letter raised a number of problems with the current draft.  First, USACM
argued that a single commercial law to govern all transactions in, or
licenses of, information is infeasible and that the list of exceptions has
grown so extensive that it calls into question the idea of having a
'unified field theory' of information licensing.  The letter stated, "Even
reducing the scope of the draft to computer software and online database
transactions will not adequately resolve the serious problems that Article
2B raises for the computing field."

The letter also outlined USACM's concerns about the potential impact of
Article 2B on legitimate acts of reverse engineering of computer systems,
including software, that are "widely practiced, promote innovation and
healthy competition, and that are legal under traditional principles of
intellectual property law."  While Article 2B does not outlaw reverse
engineering, it would contribute to legal uncertainty about reverse
engineering by enabling an argument that shrink-wrap license agreements
barring reverse engineering might be enforceable.

The letter may be found at:
http://www.acm.org/usacm/copyright/usacm-ucc2b-1098.html

Also, visit USACM's Intellectual Property page for more information on the
copyright legislation, the UCC Article 2B, and other activity USACM follows:
http://www.acm.org/usacm/copyright/

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POLICY BRIEFS
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COMPROMISE REACHED ON INCREASEING VISAS FOR HIGH-TECH WORKERS

A compromise has been reached regarding legislation to increase the number
of visas for foreign workers with high-tech jobs.  The Workforce
Improvement and Protection Act of 1998 (H.R. 3736) increases the number of
H1-b visas offered to workers admitted with special skills.  It would
increase the number from 65,000 a year to 115,000 a year over the next
three years.  The bill requires a prospective employer to include in the
H-1B admission application: (1) specified protections against U.S. worker
displacement and (2) demonstration of a good faith effort to recruit U.S.
workers.

The text of the bill can be found at:
http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/z?c105:H.R.3736.EH:

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NATIONAL SCIENCE POLICY REPORT RELEASED

On September 24, Representative Vernon Ehlers (R-MI) released "Toward a New
National Science Policy," a 74-page study that is intended to serve "as a
guide in long-term development of America's science policy."

At a meeting at the American Association for the Advancement of Science,
Representative Ehlers said that he does "not consider [himself] an expert
on science policy," adding that the study was not intended to be the
"greatest science policy report you have ever seen."  Rather, it is a
report to Congress to guide it in developing a new national science policy.
  Ehlers has stated that the vision guiding the report is that the "The
United States of American must maintain and improve its pre-eminent
position in science and technology in order to advance human understanding
of the universe and all it contains, and the improve the lives, health, and
freedom of all peoples."

The report includes comments on the importance of basic research, the roles
of government and private industry, how science can support decision
making, and kindergarten through graduate school education reform.
Regarding decision making, Ehlers said there were a "huge number" of
science and technology issues in Congress and state government
deliberations.  He stressed the need for scientists to become involved
early in the decision making process. All but one Republican on the House
Science Committee supports the report, as do a majority of the committee's
Democrats.

For the full report see:
http://www.house.gov/science/science_policy_report.htm

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WHITE HOUSE ANNOUNCES NEW CRYPTO EXPORT POLICY

In a press conference on August 16, the White House announced that it would
grant a slight liberalization of its policies regarding cryptographic
exports.  Developments in the policy include: ability to export encryption
products without key recovery using up to a 56-bit key length without prior
approval; a more user-friendly approach to export approval for products
containing key-recovery features; and the addition of insurance companies
and online vendors to the list of American industries permitted to export
encryption products for the purpose of communicating with their customers
and subsidiaries.

Previously, any encryption system or product using a key length longer than
40 bits would have to include a system for key recovery, which would make
the key accessible to a law enforcement agent with a warrant. USACM
supports relaxation of all key-length restrictions on cryptography exports
and opposes any mandatory key recovery policy.

The transcript of the press conference is available at:
http://www.pub.whitehouse.gov/uri-res/I2R?urn:pdi://oma.eop.gov.us/1998/9/16/11.text.1

Updates on the new policy and related news stories are posted regularly to:
http://www.crypto.org

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SENATE BILL TO PLACE MORATORIUM ON INTERNET TAXES

On October 8, the Internet Tax Freedom Act  (S.442) was approved by the
Senate by a vote of 96-2. The House still has to decide whether to agree to
the Senate version. It's purpose is to "establish a national policy against
State and local government interference with interstate commerce on the
Internet or interactive computer services, and to exercise Congressional
jurisdiction over interstate commerce by establishing a moratorium on the
imposition of exactions that would interfere with the free flow of commerce
via the Internet, and for other purposes."

This bill will create a two- year moratorium on new Internet taxes.
Proponents of the legislation argued that such taxes would slow down the
growth of the Internet, and hope to find a long-term solution to the tax
issues raised by electronic commerce.  President Clinton, who supports the
legislation said, "we cannot allow 30,000 state and local tax jurisdictions
to stifle the Internet, nor can we allow the erosion of the revenue that
state and local governments need to fight crime and invest in education.  I
look forward to signing this legislation into law so that America can
continue to lead the world in the Information Age."

The text of the Act can be found at:

http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/z?c105:S.442.RFH:

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CONGRESS APPROVES NEXT GENERATION INTERNET RESEARCH ACT

Congress has passed the Next Generation Internet Research Act (H.R.3332)
with strong bipartisan support.  The bill amends the High-Performance
Computing Act of 1991 to authorize appropriations for fiscal years 1999 and
2000 for the Next Generation Internet program and to require the Advisory
Committee on High-Performance Computing and Communications, Information
Technology, and the Next Generation Internet to monitor and give advice
concerning the development and implementation of the Next Generation
Internet program and report to the President and the Congress on its
activities. According to Vice President Gore, "The Next Generation Internet
initiative will keep America at the cutting-edge of Internet technology.
The NGI will establish the foundation for the networks of the 21st Century
in the same way that government investments in networking beginning in the
late 1960's led to today's Internet."

Gore stated that, "Today, more than 70 million Americans are using the
Internet to educate their children, communicate with their elected
officials, and find the best deal on a new car or a home mortgage. The
Internet is driving a $2 trillion global information and communications
industry that has accounted for roughly one-third of U.S. economic growth
in recent years.  More than 7.4 million Americans work in information
technology industries and in related occupations, earning wages that are
more than 60 percent higher than the private sector average." He stated
that, "This legislation encourages federal research needed to ensure
continued U.S. leadership in critical computer and communication
technologies in the years to come."

The text of the Act can be found at:
http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/z?c105:H.R.3332.ENR:

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ROVING WIRETAPPING PROVISION ADDED TO INTELLEGENCE BILL

Controversial "roving wiretap" provisions have been added to a major
Intelligence authorization bill (H.R. 3694) and passed by the House.
Critics of the legislation argue while the provisions were rejected in the
last Congress after an open and vigorous debate, the new provisions were
added to the Intelligence Authorization Conference Report with no hearings.

Current wiretapping law allows tapping of a particular person's phones. The
new provisions would expand current authority by allowing the FBI to
wiretap any telephone in the vicinity of a criminal suspect  regardless of
whose phone it is, or whether the suspect is using it. Law enforcement
already had the ability to obtain court orders for these so-called "roving
wiretaps," but only after demonstrating that their target was deliberately
switching telephones to evade electronic surveillance.  Under the new
provision, they need only show probable cause to believe that the suspects
phoning habits might otherwise impede their investigation.

The text of the Bill can be found at:
http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/z?c105:H.R.3694.ENR:

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APPOINTMENTS

ANITA K. JONES, PAMELA A. FERGUSON AND ROBERT C. RICHARDSON NOMINATED TO
THE NATIONAL SCIENCE BOARD

The President announced his intent to nominate Anita K. Jones, Pamela A.
Ferguson and Robert C. Richardson to serve as Members of the National
Science Board. The National Science Board was established by the National
Science Foundation Act of 1950, as amended (42 U.S.C. 1863).  In accordance
with the Act, the Board establishes the policies of the National Science
Foundation within the framework of applicable policies set forth by the
President and Congress.  Members of the Board serve six year terms.

VAN B. HONEYCUTT NOMINATED TO CHAIR THE PRESIDENT'S NATIONAL SECURITY
TELECOMMUNICATIONS ADVISORY COMMITTEE

The President announced his intent to designate Van B. Honeycutt as Chair
of the President's National Security Telecommunications Advisory Committee
(NSTAC). The President's National Security Telecommunications Advisory
Committee, established under Executive Order 12382, provides the President
with technical information and advice on national security
telecommunications policy.

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COMMUNICATIONS OF THE ACM

The September 1998 issue of Communications of the ACM focuses on Data
Warehousing.  Other interesting policy articles include:

"How Men and Women View Ethics" Jennifer Kreie and Timothy Paul Cronan
"What (Else) Should CS Educators Know?" Judith Gal-Ezer and David Harel
"Electronic Frontier: Mainstream Media Heartburn" Brock N. Meeks
"Legally Speaking: Does Information Really Have to be Licensed?" Pamela
Samuelson
"Viewpoint: Computerizing Computer Science" Don Smith
"Inside Risks: Y2K Update" Peter Neumann

For more information on CACM see:
http://www.acm.org/cacm/

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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.
202/544-4859 (tel), 202/547-5482 (fax).
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