ACM WASHINGTON UPDATE

Anti-Terrorism Legislation Becomes Law
USACM Raises Practical Concerns Regarding New Anti-Terrorism Law
U.S. Department of Justice Files Motion to Dismiss Legal Challenge to DMCA
ACM Launches New Forum to Discuss "Legal Regulation of Technology"
U.S. Government Accounting Office Compiles Reports on Information Security
Legislation to Address Cyber-Terrorism Introduced in Senate
U.S. Department of Commerce Awards .us and .edu Contracts
Association for Computing Machinery
Office of Public Policy

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October 31, 2001 Volume 5.7
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INTRODUCTION
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The Association for Computing Machinery is an international professional
society whose 80,000 members (60,000 in the U.S.) represent a critical mass
of computer professionals 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
reports on activities 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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POLICY BRIEFS
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Terrorism Bill Becomes Law

In consultation with the Bush Administration, the House and Senate passed H.R. 3162,
a bill to Provide Appropriate Tools to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism, also known
as the PATRIOT Act. As signed into law by President Bush October 26, the act makes
voice and e-mail messages subject to surveillance and access by allowing law enforcement
to obtain a single nationwide court order for wiretaps and search warrants, changing
the current practice of requiring a separate court order for each jurisdiction.
Certain expanded surveillance powers for law enforcement "sunset" on December 31, 2005.
However, many civil liberties and privacy advocates remain concerned with of the
expanded powers given to law enforcement that do not sunset, such as the ability to
monitor e-mail addresses, to share secret grand-jury information with law enforcement
agencies, and to conduct "secret searches" in which police delay giving notice to the
suspect until days after their home or office have been searched.

For a section by section description of the new law, see the web site:
< Department of Justice on New Terrorism Law>

<Chair of Senate Judiciary Committee> Senator Leahy's Section by Section on the new terrorism law.
 

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USACM Raises Practical Concerns Regarding New Anti-Terrorism Law

Prior to enactment of the PATRIOT Act into law, USACM sent letters to the Chairs and
Ranking Members of the Senate and House Committees on Judiciary and other Congressional
leaders that negotiated the provisions of the Act. In its communications to Congress and
meetings with staff, USACM expressed practical concerns regarding the extension of the
definition of terrorism to include non-violent computer crimes and other acts seemingly
unrelated to terrorism. USACM also suggested that other broad provisions of the Act
could unintentionally include legitimate and ordinary behavior by scientists and
technicians. Unfortunately, many of USACM's concerns were not addressed.

To review the USACM letter to Congressional leaders, see the USACM web site:
<USACM Terrorism Letter> sent to members of Congress.
 
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U.S. Department of Justice Files Motion to Dismiss Legal Challenge to DMCA

The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) recently requested that the court considering the
Felten v. RIAA digital copyright law dispute dismiss the case. The lawsuit had been
filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey by a number of computing
researchers. Led by Princeton University computer scientist and ACM member Edward W.
Felten, the plaintiffs are asking the court to rule portions of the DMCA unconstitutional,
arguing that its broad prohibitions on disseminating information and technology restrict
speech protected by the First Amendment. The ACM has filed a declaration in support of
Felten and the other plaintiffs to help the court understand the practical effect of the
issues at stake in this case. "It is imperative for the court to understand that the
application of any law that may limit the freedom to publish research on computer technology
will impose a cost on the academic community, the process of scientific discourse, and
society in general," stated Dr. John R. White, ACM's Executive Director, in the ACM Declaration
filed on August 13, 2001. "We believe the threat of litigation under the DMCA will have a profound
chilling effect on analysis, research, and publication" concluded White.

The DOJ's dismissal request claims that the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) does
not preclude scientists from pursuing and publishing research on digital copy prevention
schemes. In addition, the recording industry seeks to dismiss the case on grounds that
they have withdrawn legal threats against the scientific papers already written by Felten
and his team. These papers discussed the weaknesses in the music industry's proposed
digital watermarking technology designed to control consumers' use of digital music.
Oral argument on the both the government and recording industry motions to dismiss the
scientists' case has been scheduled for November 28 before Judge Garrett E. Brown in
Trenton, New Jersey.

To review the court filings, see the Recent Activities and News section of the USACM web
site at: <http://www.acm.org/usacm/>

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Legislation to Boost Nation's Technical Workforce Introduced in Congress

The Technology Talent Act of 2001 was recently introduced in the House by Science
Committee Chairman Sherwood Boehlert (R-NY) and in the Senate by Government Affairs
Committee Chairman Joseph Lieberman (D-CT). The bipartisan legislation establishes a
competitive grant program administered by the National Science Foundation (NSF) targeted
for undergraduate institutions working to increase the number of U.S. citizens or
permanent residents obtaining degrees in science, math, engineering and technology.
The legislation establishes a pilot program authorized at $25 million for Fiscal Year
2002 with additional funding expected to increase in the future. House and the Senate
hearings are expected to be held in November.

To review information about the Technology Talent legislation, see the web site: <Technology Talent Bill>

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U.S. Government Accounting Office Compiles Reports on Information Security

In reaction to the events of September 11, the U.S. Congress and the Bush Administration
have renewed efforts to enhance domestic and homeland security. Much of their effort
has been focused on changing federal law and creating new agencies to address perceived
and real threats posed by information technology. Over the last several years, the U.S.
Government Accounting Office (GAO) has provided Congress with a variety of reports
related to information security. GAO has compiled a special collection of on-line
reports that can be accessed by the public.

To review relevant GAO Reports, see the "Terrorism" link at the web site:
<www.gao.gov>

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ACM Launches New Forum to Discuss "Legal Regulation of Technology"

Regulations that have been promulgated by the federal government as the result of
legislation enacted by Congress continues to impact the work that technologists perform.
In response to evolving public law in the area of technology, the ACM has formed a new
forum on "Legal Regulation of Technology." Hosted by Princeton University and moderated
by Edward W. Felten, this forum will allow technologists to discuss how laws are
affecting their work. Changes in law which have had a negative impact on the work of
technologists include the U.S. Digital Millennium Copyright, a law that continues to
have a chilling effect on analysis, research, and publication. Legal scholars along
with other disciplines have been discussing the ramification of changes in laws involving
technology for some time. The new forum will allow technologists to add their voices
to these important discussions.

For more information, including instructions on how to subscribe to the new ACM Forum,
see the web site: <ACM Legal Regulation of Technology Forum>

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Senator Orrin Hatch Introduces Legislation to Address Cyber-terrorism

On October 18, Senator Orrin Hatch (R-UT), Ranking Republican Member of the Senate
Committee on Judiciary, introduced S. 1568, the Cyber-terrorism Prevention Act of 2001.
This legislation provides law enforcement additional tools to combat cyber-based
attacks on computers and their networks. Specifically, the bill would make changes to
Chapter 18 of the United States Code, Section 1030, which is the federal description
of computer related criminal behavior. Although the title of the legislation mentions
terrorism, the changes contained in S. 1568 apply generally and not just to cyber-terrorism.
The bill would also provide additional resources to the FBI by authorizing $50 million
in funding for 10 regional computer forensic laboratories.

The text of S. 1568 can be found at the web site:
<New Cyber-terrorism Bill>

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U.S. Department of Commerce Awards .us and .edu Contracts

On October 29, the U.S. Department of Commerce's National Telecommunications and
Information Administration (NTIA) awarded a four year contract to NeuStar to manage
the .us top level domain. Earlier this year, USACM submitted a letter to the Secretary
of Commerce urging a complete evaluation of the public policy requirements for the
current and future management of the .us top level domain. The NTIA also announced a
five year agreement with Educause to manage the .edu top level domain. VeriSign currently
manages the .edu domain; that contract expires on November 10, 2001. Educause will
operate the registry and registrar services at no cost to the government. It will not
charge a registration fee for its services, but may propose a fee in the future to
recover costs, subject to government approval.

For more information on the .us contract, see the NTIA web site at:
<National Telecommunication and Information Administration>

For more information on the .edu contract, see the NTIA web site at: <NTIA .edu Contract>

To review the USACM letter concerning the .us top level domain contract, see:
<USACM Letter> on .us top level domains

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Contacting the ACM Public Policy Office

Should you have questions or comments regarding public policy issues or USACM activities,
please contact the ACM Public Policy Office located in Washington, DC, by e-mailing
USACM@acm.org or calling (202)659-9711. The ACM Public Policy Office would also be
pleased to assist ACM members in contacting or meeting with their elected officials in
Washington, DC.