ACM WASHINGTON UPDATE Vol. 8.7 (July 30, 2004)
CONTENTS
[1] USACM Voices Reservations About Induce Act (S. 2560)
[2] USACM Endorses Congressional Testimony on IT R&D
[3] Risks and Vulnerabilities of E-voting Continue to Stir Controversy
[4] New Federal Court Decision and Administration Action Affect Privacy
[5] CRA Awards Simons and Klawe at Snowbird Conference
[6] Computer Science and Telecommunications Board Appoints New Co-Chairs
[7] European Policymakers Issue Report on DRM
[1] USACM VOICES RESERVATIONS ABOUT INDUCE ACT (S. 2560)
In advance of this month's hearing on the Inducing Infringement of Copyrights Act of 2004 (S. 2560), USACM sent a letter to Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Orrin Hatch expressing reservations about the legislation and offering to provide input on its development. In the letter, USACM cautions that the legislation's flawed approach of restricting technology rather than focusing on individual acts of infringement could have serious unintended consequences which could undermine continued innovations in software and digital computing and introduce new liabilities for technology developers. The letter is available at http://www.acm.org/usacm/induce_letter.pdf, while more information about the hearing is available at http://judiciary.senate.gov/hearing.cfm?id=1276.
[2] USACM ENDORSES CONGRESSIONAL TESTIMONY ON IT R&D
USACM, along with the Computing Research Association (CRA), endorsed the testimony of ACM Fellow Edward Lazowska before the House Government Reform Subcommittee on Technology, Information Policy, Intergovernmental Relations, and the Census. The subcommittee held a hearing on July 7th regarding the federal government's IT research and development investments. Lazowska's testimony echoed USACM's long-standing committment toward highlighting the crucial role federal investment in IT R&D plays in fostering innovation and encouraging the development of new experts in computing and related disciplines. A brief summary of the hearing is available from CRA's government affairs weblog at http://www.cra.org/govaffairs/blog/archives/000110.html. For more information, see the article at http://www.govexec.com/dailyfed/0704/070704td2.htm and the committee's web page on the hearing at http://reform.house.gov/TIPRC/Hearings/EventSingle.aspx?EventID=1187 or http://tinyurl.com/67zna.
In related research funding news, the Coalition on National Science Funding (CNSF) recently issued a letter criticizing the draft FY 2005 VA, HUD and Independent Agencies Appropriations Bill that cuts next year's National Science Foundation budget by 2 percent. Through CRA, USACM is a member of CNSF. The CNSF statement is available from their website at http://www.cnsfweb.org/StatementOnVA-HUDMarkup.7-22-04.pdf.
[3] RISKS AND VULNERABILITIES OF E-VOTING CONTINUE TO STIR CONTROVERSY
July proved to be a busy month in terms of e-voting activities. Early in July, the House Administration Committee held a hearing on e-voting technology that featured testimony from Johns Hopkins University computer science professor Avi Rubin and others, and--with time quickly running out before the November elections--it illustrated the current level of disagreement between those involved in the e-voting debate. In his testimony, Professor Rubin described some of the risks involved in using computer software in e-voting machines to record votes and suggested that it is irresponsible to continue using the technology without addressing these risks. For more information, see the article at http://www.philly.com/mld/inquirer/news/nation/9102150.htm.
Later in the month, the House Government Reform's Subcommittee on Technology, Information Policy, Intergovernmental Relations and the Census also held a hearing on e-voting technology. It featured testimony from a representative of the National Institute for Standards and Technology (NIST), who commented that national standards for e-voting technology won't be ready in time for the 2004 elections, and a representative of the newly renamed Government Accountability Office (GAO), which recently released a report on e-voting technology. More information about the hearing is available from the subcommittee's web site at http://reform.house.gov/TIPRC/Hearings/EventSingle.aspx?EventID=1217, while the GAO report is available at http://www.gao.gov/new.items/d04975t.pdf.
In other e-voting news, a Federal court decision upheld California Secretary of State Kevin Shelley's directive decertifying touch-screen voting machines. See the ComputerWorld article at http://www.computerworld.com/governmenttopics/government/legalissues/story/0,10801,94372,00.html? or http://tinyurl.com/6xr9m. Meanwhile, Venezuela has decided to use touchscreen e-voting systems for its recall referendum on Hugo Chavez's presidency despite an embarrassing e-voting controversy in 2000. See the USA Today article at http://www.usatoday.com/tech/world/2004-07-12-venezuela-evote_x.htm.
Finally, on July 13th, over twenty rallies were held across the United States under a "Computer Ate My Vote" theme, where participants urged the adoption of voter-verifiable paper ballots to ensure accurate recounts. In Salt Lake City, Utah, participants presented election officials with a 2,000-signature petition asking that new e-voting systems include voter-verifiable paper ballots. Former ACM President and current USACM Co-chair Barbara Simons participated in the Utah rally and urged election officials not to invest in current e-voting technologies. For more, see the Salt Lake Tribune article at http://166.70.44.66/2004/Jul/07142004/utah/183377.asp.
[4] NEW FEDERAL COURT DECISION AND ADMINISTRATION ACTION AFFECT PRIVACY
There were several developments affecting information technology and privacy policy in July. Among the most notable, perhaps, had to do with the Department of Homeland Security's (DHS's) controversial Computer Assisted Passenger Pre-Screening System (CAPPS II) program. DHS Secretary Tom Ridge announced the end of the program due to numerous concerns regarding the program's impact on the privacy of individuals. However, much speculation remains that the program (or parts of it) will continue in some form or another. See the USA Today article at http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/2004-07-14-fly-plan_x.htm or http://tinyurl.com/6um2k. In addition, the ACLU has sent a letter to Ridge asking for more information about the actual status of the CAPPS II program and what is to be done with the data already collected for the program from various airlines and travel reservation systems. ACLU's letter and an accompanying press release can be viewed at http://www.aclu.org/Privacy/Privacy.cfm?ID=16133&c=130.
Also of interest this month was the so-called "Councilman" decision by a federal appeals court in Massachusetts. The court upheld a lower-court decision that a small Internet service provider, Bradford C. Councilman, did not violate the Wiretap Act when he intercepted, copied, and read some of the emails his company processed for customers. The ruling sets a precedent that could allow ISPs to read email that travels through their networks. For more information, see the ComputerWorld article at http://www.computerworld.com/governmenttopics/government/legalissues/story/0,10801,94283,00.html or http://tinyurl.com/3yhn3, as well as the full text of the opinion at http://www.ca1.uscourts.gov/pdf.opinions/03-1383-01A.pdf.
[5] CRA AWARDS SIMONS AND KLAWE AT SNOWBIRD CONFERENCE
Former ACM presidents Maria Klawe and Barbara Simons were honored for their contributions to the computing and technology community at the Computing Research Association's (CRA's) biennial conference in Snowbird, Utah. Klawe received the 2004 A. Nico Habermann Award (named for the former head of the National Science Foundation's Computer and Information Science and Engineering Directorate, a committed advocate for women and underrepresented minorities in computing research) for her help in aiding members of underrepresented groups within the computing research community. Simons received the 2004 CRA Distinguished Service Award for her efforts to raise government and business awarness of the need to use technology responsibly and for developing programs aimed at increasing the participation of women and minorities in the computing profession. She was also cited for her work on behalf of scientific freedom and human rights and as a founder and leader of USACM.
The conference, which ran from July 11-13, brought together the chairs of Ph.D.-granting departments of computer science and computer engineering, as well as leaders from U.S. industrial and government computing research laboratories. A number of other senior people from research groups, government, academia, and professional societies also attended. The goal of the conference is to provide a context in which attendees can discuss practical and strategic issues facing their organizations. More information about the conference can be found at http://www.cra.org/Activities/snowbird/2004/index.html.
[6] COMPUTER SCIENCE AND TELECOMMUNICATIONS BOARD APPOINTS NEW CO-CHAIRS
The National Academies' Computer Science and Telecommunications Board (CSTB) announced early in July the appointment of David Liddle (US Venture Partners) and Jeannette Wing (Carnegie Mellon University) as co-chairs of the board. CSTB also welcomed new members William Dally (Stanford University), Deborah L. Estrin (UCLA), Kevin Kahn (Intel), James Kajiya (Microsoft), and Michael Katz (UC Berkeley). Outgoing CSTB chair David D. Clark (MIT) will participate as a member emeritus. Earlier this year, former USACM chair Charles Brownstein became executive director of CSTB. More information about the board and its work can be found at http://www.cstb.org.
[7] EUROPEAN POLICYMAKERS ISSUE REPORT ON DRM
During their second meeting on July 8th, members of the European Commission's High Level Group on Digital Rights Management (DRM) decided to ask for public comments on their final report. Established in February 2004, the group was created to provide an opportunity for stakeholders to raise concerns and discuss possible areas of cooperation between businesses and governments. The group's final report discusses such policy issues as the role DRM plays in delivering content to users, DRM interoperability requirements, standards development, and the migration of users to "legitimate" Internet services. The public comment period will remain open until September 15, and comments will appear on the group's web site. A follow-up workshop is scheduled for November. The final report and more information about the group can be found at http://europa.eu.int/information_society/eeurope/2005/all_about/digital_rights_man/text_en.htm or http://tinyurl.com/68yr6.
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