The President’s Information Technology Advisory Committee (PITAC) met yesterday in their second public session since being reconstituted last year after nearly two years of inactivity. The two items on the agenda were a report on the draft recommendations (pdf) of PITAC’s subcommittee on Health and IT, and the first taking of public testimony by the […]
The White House last Friday released its response to a report by the Union of Concerned Scientists that claims the administration is distorting and censoring scientific findings that contradict its policies; manipulating the underlying science to align results with predetermined political decisions; and undermining the independence of science advisory panels by subjecting panel nominees to political litmus […]
Ed Felten’s Freedom to Tinker has a bit on the recent Treasury Department ruling in favor of IEEE regarding U.S. restrictions in place against copy-editing and publishing scientific papers whose authors come from countries under US trade embargoes. IEEE had been working the issue with the Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control for about […]
Tech Daily (sub. req’d) reports on a Senate bill introduced yesterday by Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-VT) that would allow the Justice Department to file civil lawsuits and bring criminal charges against song-swappers using peer-to-peer networks. Complaints from content providers about the relatively few numbers of criminal prosecutions for file trading apparently led Leahy to introduce […]
Speaking in New Mexico today, President Bush announced his support for rolling out universal broadband service within three years. From Reuters: “We ought to have universal, affordable access to broadband technology by the year 2007,” Bush said. “And then we ought to make sure as soon as possible thereafter consumers have plenty of choices.” “It’s […]
The Boston Globe has a piece on the apparent disposition of some TIA-related (DARPA .pdf) work in the wake of Congress’ move last year to eliminate DARPA funding for the controversial program. The program, an attempt to “design a prototype network that integrates innovative information technologies for detecting and preempting foreign terrorist activities against Americans,” […]
Business Week is running a special report on US R&D policy and how America may be slipping down the curve compared with other countries. Some choice quotes: For anyone concerned about strengthening America’s long-term leadership in science and technology, the nation’s schools are an obvious place to start. But brace yourself for what you’ll find. […]
Wired has an eye-opening article on a draft letter circulated by the California Attorney General’s office to other state attorneys general that suggests peer-to-peer software producers are making a “dangerous product” and that the failure of technology makers to warn consumers could constitute a deceptive trade practice. More intriguing is that Wired obtained a copy […]
Just a quick link to a worrisome Washington Post story about a Justice Department petition to the FCC urgently requesting the agency intervene to require internet service providers to allow easier access to their networks for wiretapping purposes. The news article suggests that Justice is asking for technological changes to the network in order to […]
Hands Off! That Fact Is Mine (from Wired Magazine courtesy of Phil Bernstein) A nice introduction to the issues for non-technical types. [Peter Harsha adds: CRA has joined with USACM in educating Members of Congress about the potentially serious impact the bill could have on legitimate research. More details soon…. USACM also has an excellent […]
