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ALERT-2.04
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1994-11-01
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Volume 2.04 October 25, 1993
-------------------------------------------------------------
Published by
Computer Professionals for Social Responsibility
Washington Office
(Alert@washofc.cpsr.org)
-------------------------------------------------------------
Contents
[1] CPSR Releases NII Paper
[2] Public Interest Coalition Announces NII Principles
[3] CPSR Cryptography Resolution
[4] SEC to put EDGAR System on the Internet
[5] New Documents in the CPSR Internet Library
[6] Upcoming Conferences and Events
-------------------------------------------------------------
[1] CPSR Releases NII Paper
Computer Professionals for Social Responsibility (CPSR) today voiced
concern that the planned information superhighway will not realize its
full potential. The public interest organization put forward specific
guidelines for the National Information Infrastructure (NII) in a paper
titled, "Serving the Community: A Public-Interest Vision of the
National Information Infrastructure."
"It is much easier to state a vision than to achieve it, " said Dr.
Roberts who is also Associate Chair of the Computer Science department
at Stanford University. "And there are many dangers on the horizon
that threaten to compromise the value of the NII as a resource for the
public.
CPSR's paper expands on these dangers and makes policy and technical
recommendations for the newly formed Information Infrastructure Task
Force. The Task Force is expected to coordinate network policy for the
Clinton Administration.
CPSR recommends that the Administration adopt the following policies:
o Promote widespread economic benefits by evaluating the NII's
economic success using measures that reflect its impact on the
society as a whole, not merely the profits of NII investors and
service providers.
o Evaluate the social impact of the NII by conducting periodic
reviews as the NII is implemented and used to guarantee that it
continues to serve the public interest.
o Guarantee equitable and universal access through an appropriate
mix of legislation, regulation, taxation, and direct subsidies.
o Promote the development of a vital civic sector by ensuring
resources, training, and support for public spaces within the NII
where citizens can pursue non commercial activities.
o Promote a diverse and competitive marketplace in terms of the
content carried over the NII.
o Provide access to government services and information over the
NII.
o Encourage democratic participation by ensuring full public
disclosure, and actively promoting democratic decision-making
and public participation in all stages of the development process.
o Actively facilitate the seamless connection of America's NII with
the information infrastructures of other nations by working to resolve
such issues as security, censorship, tariffs, and privacy.
o Guarantee the functional integrity of by establishing critical
technical requirements including ease of use, widespread
availability, full functionality, high reliability, adequate
privacy protection, and evolutionary expansion.
The recommendations follow from a year long review of the NII conducted
by CPSR. Initially, CPSR collected more than 1,200 suggestions for NII
policy from network users across the country. CPSR then drafted a
report and CPSR chapters in Berkeley, Boston, Seattle, and Washington,
D.C. held special meetings on the NII. Final changes to the report
were made at the annual meeting of CPSR, where the report was adopted
unanimously by the CPSR Board of Directors.
CPSR is planning a conference next April in Cambridge, Mass on the
future of the NII. The conference will look specifically at the
development of key principles in the CPSR report.
The paper is available electronically by sending email to
listserv@cpsr.org. In the message body write the command "GET CPSR
NII_POLICY" (no quotes). The paper will automatically be mailed to
you. You can also get the paper through ftp/wais/gopher at
cpsr.org/nii/cpsr_nii_policy.txt.
For a hard copy of the paper or for more information about CPSR , call
415-322-3778 or write to cpsr@cpsr.org. For information about the
Telecommunications Policy Roundtable, contact Jeff Chester at
202/628-2620 or cme@access.digex.net.
-------------------------------------------------------------
[2] Public Interest Coalition Announces NII Principles
A new coalition of more than sixty nonprofit, consumer, labor and civil
rights organizations has created a blueprint for the emerging
"information superhighway." The Telecommunications Policy Roundtable
will unveil its founding principles, contained in a document entitled
"Renewing the Commitment to a Public Interest Telecommunications
Policy," on Tuesday, October 26th at the National Press Club.
The Convergence of traditionally distinct technologies-such as cable
television, telephone, computer, and video-requires new strategic
alliances in the public interest and nonprofit community. Among the
groups endorsing the new principles are: the American Library
Association, Computer Professionals for Social Responsibility, Media
Access Project, National Coalition on Black Voter Participation, OMB
Watch, People for the American Way, Public Citizen, United Cerebral
Palsy Association, and the Writers Guild of America, East.
A news conference will be held Tuesday, October 26, 1993, 10:00 A.M.,
the National Press Club, Main Lounge, 14th and F Street, N.W.,
Washington, DC announcing the principles.
For Further information, contact Jeffrey Chester, Center for Media
Education, (202) 628-2620, email: cme@access.digex.net
-------------------------------------------------------------
[3] CPSR Cryptography Resolution
Adopted by the CPSR Board of Directors, San Francisco, CA October 18,
1993
WHEREAS,
Digital communications technology is becoming an increasingly
significant component of our lives, affecting our educational,
financial, political and social interaction; and
The National Information Infrastructure requires high assurances of
privacy to be useful; and
Encryption technology provides the most effective technical means of
ensuring the privacy and security of digital communications; and
Restrictions on cryptography are likely to impose significant costs on
scientific freedom, government accountability, and economic
development; and
The right of individuals to freely use encryption technology is
consistent with the principles embodied in the Constitution of the
United States; and
The privacy and security of digital communications is essential to the
preservation of a democratic society in our information age; and
CPSR has played a leading role in many efforts to promote privacy
protection for new communications technologies:
BE IT RESOLVED THAT
Computer Professionals for Social Responsibility supports the right of
all individuals to design, distribute, obtain and use encryption
technology and opposes any government attempt to interfere with the
exercise of that right; and
CPSR opposes the development of classified technical standards for the
National Information Infrastructure.
-------------------------------------------------------------
[4] SEC to Put EDGAR on the Internet
On Friday, October 22, Congressman Edward Markey (D-Mass) announced
that the National Science Foundation is financing a two-year project to
make the Security and Exchange Commission's Electronic Data Gathering
and Retrieval System (EDGAR) system available for free on the Internet.
EDGAR maintains the electronic filings of corporations registered with
the SEC. Over 3,000 corporations will file their reports electronically
by the end of this year and by 1996, all 15,000 companies registered
with the SEC will be required to file electronically. These reports
contain information including quarterly profits, pending lawsuits and
management changes. The database will be useful to small investors,
journalists researchers, and others interested in the corporations.
The pilot program will be conducted by the Stern School of Business at
New York University and Carl Malamaud's Internet Multicasting Service
with a $666,528 grant from the NSF. It is expected to be in operation
by next spring. It will maintain a one year archive of filings.
The project came about after pressure from the Taxpayer Assets Project,
libraries,and other public interest, newspapers and business groups
objected to an agreement between the SEC and Mead Data contract that
allowed Mead to retain the data for resale while only providing the SEC
microfiche copies. Mead then sold the electronic data for hourly rates
between $240-$360 per hour. TAP began a campaign in Congressional
hearings, on the Internet and in the media to oppose the agreement.
TAP and the library groups have also been working to make other
government databases directly available to the public. They led the
campaign for the passage of the GPO WINDO bill, which will make the
Federal Register and the Congressional Record online by next year. They
are also attempting to make the Department of Justice's Juris system
and the Patent and Trademark Office's Online Patent System available.
More information on TAP's Crown Jewels Project is available in the
Taxpayer Assets Project archive at the CPSR Internet Library
Gopher/WAIS/FTP cpsr.org /tap or contact Jamie Love
(love@essential.org)
-------------------------------------------------------------
[5] The CPSR Internet Library
The Congressional Joint Committee on Printing has just issued a report
on the future of the Committee. The report is available at /info_access
congressional_printing_committee_report.txt
Nicholas Johnson's keynote speech - "Freedom, fun and fundamentals:
defining digital progress in a democratic society" from CFP3 is now
available on CPSR.org /cpsr/conferences/cfp93/keynote.Johnson
The CPSR Internet Library is available via FTP/WAIS/Gopher from
cpsr.org /cpsr. Materials from Privacy International, the Taxpayers
Assets Project and the Cypherpunks are also archived. For more
information, contact Al Whaley (al@sunnyside.com)
-------------------------------------------------------------
[6] Upcoming Conferences and Events
"Good and Evil in the Judicial System" Ladoris Hazzard Cordell, Judge
of Santa Clara County Superior Court. Annual meeting of ACLU-NC
Midpeninsula Chapter.Nov. 10. $30.00. RSVP: Les Earnest
Les@cs.stanford.edu. Send $ to Iris Barrie, 4250 El Camino Real, D-138
Palo Alto, CA 94301.
"IGC's Role in Civic Networking and the National Information
Infrastructure. " ALL-IGC DC USERS GROUP MEETING! School of
International Service, The American University, Washington, DC.
November 10, 6:30-8:00PM. Contact: Howard Frederick
(hfrederick@igc.apc.org), 202-885-1635.
"Cyberculture Houston 93." Houston, Tx. December 10-12, Contact:
cyber@fisher.psych.uh.edu.
Worldwide Electronic Commerce: Law, Policy and Controls Conference.
MultiCorp, Inc and American Bar Association. Waldorf Astoria Hotel,
New York City. January 17 - 18, 1994. Contact: Fred Sammet
(76520.3713@CompuServe.COM), Phone (214) 516-4900, fax at (214)
475-5917.
"Highways and Toll Roads: Electronic Access in the 21st Century" Panel
Discussion. 1994 AAAS Annual Meeting. San Francisco, CA. Feb. 21, 1994
2:30 - 5:30pm. Sponsored by the Association for Computing Machinery
(ACM). Contact: Barbara Simons (simons@vnet.IBM.COM)
"Computers, Freedom and Privacy 94." Chicago, Il. March 23-26.
Sponsored by ACM and The John Marshall Law School. Contact: George
Trubow, 312-987-1445 (CFP94@jmls.edu).
DIAC-94 "Developing an Effective, Equitable, and Enlightened
Information Infrastructure." MIT Media Lab, Cambridge, MA. April 1994
(tentative). Contact: Doug Schuler (douglas@grace.rt.cs.boeing.com).
5th Conference On Women Work And Computerization "Breaking Old
Boundaries: Building New Forms." UMIST, Manchester, UK. July 2-5.
Abstracts by 10/1/93. Contact: Andrew Clement (clement@vax.ox.ac.uk)
(Send calendar submissions to Alert@washofc.cpsr.org)
==============================================================
To subscribe to the Alert, send the message:
"subscribe cpsr <your name>" (without quotes or brackets)
to listserv@gwuvm.gwu.edu. Back issues of the Alert are available at
the CPSR Internet Library FTP/WAIS/Gopher cpsr.org /cpsr/alert
Computer Professionals for Social Responsibility is a national,
non-partisan, public-interest organization dedicated to understanding
and directing the impact of computers on society. Founded in 1981, CPSR
has 2000 members from all over the world and 22 chapters across the
country. Our National Advisory Board includes a Nobel laureate and
three winners of the Turing Award, the highest honor in computer
science. Membership is open to everyone.
For more information, please contact: cpsr@cpsr.org or visit the CPSR
discussion conferences on The Well (well.sf.ca.us) or Mindvox
(phantom.com).
==============================================================
CPSR MEMBERSHIP FORM
Name ______________________________________________________________
Address ___________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________
City/State/Zip ____________________________________________________
Home phone _____________________ Work phone _____________________
Company ___________________________________________________________
Type of work ______________________________________________________
E-mail address ____________________________________________________
CPSR Chapter
__ Acadiana __ Austin __ Berkeley
__ Boston __ Chicago __ Denver/Boulder
__ Los Angeles __ Madison __ Maine
__ Milwaukee __ Minnesota __ New Haven
__ New York __ Palo Alto __ Philadelphia
__ Pittsburgh __ Portland __ San Diego
__ Santa Cruz __ Seattle __ Washington, DC
__ Virtual Chapter (nationwide) __ No chapter in my area
CPSR Membership Categories
__ $ 75 REGULAR MEMBER
__ $ 50 Basic member
__ $ 200 Supporting member
__ $ 500 Sponsoring member
__ $1000 Lifetime member
__ $ 20 Student/low income member
__ $ 50 Foreign subscriber
__ $ 50 Library/institutional subscriber
Additional tax-deductible contribution to support CPSR projects:
__ $50 __ $75 __ $100 __ $250
__ $500 __ $1000 __ Other
Total Enclosed: $ ________
Make check out to CPSR and mail to:
CPSR
P.O. Box 717
Palo Alto, CA 94301
------------------------ END CPSR Alert 2.04-----------------------