Below is a list of items with policy relevance from the July issue of Communications of the ACM. As always, much of the material in CACM is premium content, and free content one month may slip behind a pay wall the next. You need to be a member of ACM or a subscriber to CACM to access premium content online.

News: Technology
Automotive Autonomy by Alex Wright
A description of recent advances in automating automobiles, focusing on efforts support by Google and the European Union.

Viewpoint: Legally Speaking
Too Many Copyrights? by Pamela Samuelson
The author describes the current lack of copyright registration requirements and whether reinstating them makes sense.
Read More »

Below is a list of items with policy relevance from the June issue of Communications of the ACM. As always, much of the material in CACM is premium content, and free content one month may slip behind a pay wall the next. You need to be a member of ACM or a subscriber to CACM to access premium content online.

Column: Privacy and Security
Identity Management and Privacy: A Rare Opportunity to Get it Right by Ari Shapiro
The Senior Internet Policy Advisor at the National Institute of Standards and Technology discusses how the proposed National Strategy for Trusted Identities in Cyberspace offers a way to protect privacy, assure identities, and maintain the benefits of the Internet.

Practice
Does Deterrence Work in Reducing Information Security Policy Abuse by Employees? by Qing Hu, Zhengchuan Xu, Tamara Dinev and Hong Ling
A review of the authors research in the relationships between security policies and behavior in corporate settings, with an emphasis on how effective deterrence is in reducing violations.

Below is a list of items with policy relevance from the May issue of Communications of the ACM. As always, much of the material in CACM is premium content, and free content one month may slip behind a pay wall the next. You need to be a member of ACM or a subscriber to CACM to access premium content online.

Letters
Technology Has Social Consequences by Moshe Y. Vardi
CACM’s editor describes how changes in technology have affected norms and practices around reviewers and conference program committee members.

News: Society
Data Optimization in Developing Nations by Leah Hoffman
A sketch of how data collection and analysis can be utilized for issues in the developing world.

Viewpoint: Economic and Business Dimensions
Online Advertising, Behavioral Targeting, and Privacy by Avi Goldfarb and Catherine E. Tucker
A review of recent surveys on the impact of European Union regulations on targeted online advertising.
Read More »

Below is a list of items with policy relevance from the April issue of Communications of the ACM. As always, much of the material in CACM is premium content, and free content one month may slip behind a pay wall the next. You need to be a member of ACM or a subscriber to CACM to access premium content online.

Letters
Educating Computing’s Next Generation by Robert B. Schnabel
The chair of ACM’s Education Policy Committee describes the charge and activities of the Committee.

News: Society
Social Games, Virtual Goods by Samuel Greengard
A brief update on how online games and the currency used in those games can have physical world impacts.

News: Academia
British Computer Scientists Reboot by Sarah Underwood
How one computer science department in a U.K. university is struggling with budget cuts and poor research rankings.
Read More »

Below is a list of items with policy relevance from the March issue of Communications of the ACM. As always, much of the material in CACM is premium content, and free content one month may slip behind a pay wall the next. You need to be a member of ACM or a subscriber to CACM to access premium content online.

News: Research and Development

Evaluating Government Funding by Tom Geller
Article reviews the December 2010 report from the President’s Council of Advisers on Science and Technology on federal investments in networking and information technology research.

News: In Memoriam
Gary Chapman, Technologist: 1952-2010
A remembrance of Chapman, who served as the first Executive Director of Computer Professionals for Social Responsibility.

Viewpoints: Legally Speaking
Do You Own the Software You Buy? by Pamela Samuelson
Samuelson reviews recent court decisions and how they affect the resale of software.

Viewpoints: Computing Ethics
Surrounded by Machines by Kenneth D. Pimple
Review of a recent workshop on the ethics of pervasive and autonomous information technology.
Read More »

Below is a list of items with policy relevance from the February issue of Communications of the ACM. As always, much of the material in CACM is premium content, and free content one month may slip behind a pay wall the next. You need to be a member of ACM or a subscriber to CACM to access premium content online.

News: Technology
Chipping Away at Greenhouse Gases, by Gregory Goth
Review of processor algorithms that could lead to significant cost and energy savings. Also considered are the new research questions posed by the new technologies.

News: Society
Following the Crowd by Samuel Greengard
Discussion of crowdsourcing and how private and public sector organizations have tapped into the phenomenon.

Viewpoints: Privacy and Security
Against Cyberterrorism by Maura Conway
The author argues why cyber-based terrorist attacks aren’t as likely to occur as might be commonly thought.

Viewpoints: Economic and Business Dimensions
Household Demand for Broadband Internet Service by Gregory Rosston, Scott Savage and Donald Waldman
A consumer survey indicates what people are willing to pay for various speeds of Internet service.

Viewpoints: Education
From Science to Engineering by Mark Guzdial
The need for finding and measuring better ways to teach computer science is explored, with comparisons to physics and engineering education.

Below is a list of items with policy relevance from the January issue of Communications of the ACM. As always, much of the material in CACM is premium content, and free content one month may slip behind a pay wall the next. You need to be a member of ACM or a subscriber to CACM to access premium content online.

News: Society
India’s Elephantine Effort by Marina Krakovsky
Description of India’s efforts to establish a biometric ID program, in part to do better in delivering government subsidies to the people who are supposed to receive them.

Viewpoints: Law and Technology
Google AdWords and European Trademark Law by Stefan Bechtold
The article reviews recent trademark infringement cases involving keyword searches and what liability Google may have in such matters.

Viewpoint
Cloud Computing Privacy Concerns on Our Doorstop by Mark D. Ryan
Using the example of conference management systems, the author outlines the risks and benefits of cloud computing services.

Contributed Articles
Follow the Intellectual Property by Gio Wiederhold
While movement of jobs between countries has occupied much attention in policy debates, the article focuses on the associated movement of intellectual property rights.

Review Article
A Firm Foundation for Private Data Analysis by Cynthia Dwork
A review of the technical challenges of Differential Privacy – analyzing database information without disclosing private information about people in the database.

Below is a list of items with policy relevance from the December issue of Communications of the ACM. As always, much of the material in CACM is premium content, and free content one month may slip behind a pay wall the next. You need to be a member of ACM or a subscriber to CACM to access premium content online.

News: Education
CSEdWeek Expands Its Reach by Marina Krakovsky
A review of computer science education to note the second Computer Science Education Week held in December 2010.

News: Society
The New Face of War by Samuel Greengard
A review of current and future possibilities in cyberattacks framed by the Stuxnet worm.

News: Forum
A Matter of Privacy by David Lindley
Summary of a September 2010 forum about online privacy held in Washington, D.C.

Viewpoints: Broadening Participation
The Role of Hispanic-Serving Institutions in Contributing to an Educated Work Force by Ann Quiroz Gates
The author argues that supporting the efforts of minority serving institutions to become stronger institutions provides an additional tool for encouraging broader participation from underrepresented groups in science, technology, engineering and mathematics fields.

Viewpoints
We Need a Research Data Census by Francine Berman
An argument is made for a Research Data Census to take periodic snapshots of the digital data landscape. Such a census could provide guidance in decisions about data storage and management across the country.

Practice
The Theft of Business Innovation: An ACM-BCS Roundtable on Threats to Global Competitiveness by Mache Creeger
A roundtable discussion among security and policy experts on the new security threat to business information.

CONTENTS

[1] Newsletter Highlights
[2] 2010 ACM A.M Turing Award Recognizes Les Valiant
[3] USACM Supports Defense Against FY ‘11 Cuts
[4] USACM Comments on Federal Trade Commission Online Privacy Report
[5] USACM Joins Statement of Concern Over Expansion of Intercept Law
[6] Senate Passes Patent Reform Bill
[7] About USACM

[An archive of all previous editions of Washington Update is available at http://www.acm.org/usacm/update/]

[1] NEWSLETTER HIGHLIGHTS

Contrary to press reports, there are other things going on in Washington besides the budget negotiations. There are more details on each item below, as well as on our weblog at:
http://www.acm.org/usacm/weblog:

* Les Valiant wins A.M Turing Award for his work in computer science theory.

* USACM joined with other numerous other organizations on a letter urging the Senate to to resist deep cuts to science agency budgets approved recently by the House of Representatives.

* USACM submitted comments in response to FTC’s preliminary staff report concerning online privacy. The report outlines a proposed privacy framework.

* USACM signed on to a statement developed by the Center for Democracy and Technology in response to possible changes to the Communications Assistance for Law Enforcement Act (CALEA).

* The Senate passed a bill intended to reform the patent system.

[2] 2010 ACM A.M. TURING AWARD RECOGNIZES LES VALIANT

Les Valiant, the T. Jefferson Coolidge Professor of Computer Science and Applied Mathematics at Harvard’s School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, has been recognized for his work in machine learning and the theory of computation with the 2010 ACM A.M. Turing Award. The Award, which comes with a $250,000 prize, is supported in part by Intel and Google, and is considered the top prize in computing. It is named for the British mathematician Alan Turing, who was instrumental in the early development of modern computing.

Over his career, Dr. Valiant has made notable contributions to several parts of computer science theory. He helped establish the foundation of computer learning theory. Valiant also developed the concept of complexity of enumeration and a theory of algebraic computation. His work in parallel and distributed computing theory is also well regarded.

Read more about Dr. Valiant’s work:
http://www.acm.org/news/featured/turing-award-2010

[3] USACM SUPPORTS DEFENSE AGAINST FY ‘11 CUTS

USACM signed a letter sent to the Senate leadership early in March urging them to resist the deep cuts to science agency budgets approved by the House of Representatives. The cuts would be for the remainder of the current fiscal year. The letter was organized by the Task Force on American Innovation; over 170 organizations have signed on.

The basic argument of the letter was to encourage the continued doubling path for the National Science Foundation, National Institute of Standards and Technology, and the Office of Science at the Department of Energy. Echoing language from the National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform, the letter indicates that even in a time of cuts and savings there is still a need for investment in education, infrastructure, and research and development, especially to help support needed economic growth. The proposed cuts work counter to that need for investment.

The final resolution of this budget debate may be soon, or another temporary measure may have to be passed. The current continuing resolution that funds the government is scheduled to expire on March 18.

The full letter can be read online at:
http://www.aplu.org/NetCommunity/Document.Doc?id=3023

[4] USACM COMMENTS ON FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION ONLINE PRIVACY REPORT

On February 18th, USACM submitted comments in response to the Federal Trade Commission’s (FTC) preliminary staff report concerning online privacy. Titled “Protecting Consumer Privacy in an Era of Rapid Change,” the report outlines a proposed privacy framework involving the following general principles:

- Companies should integrate privacy into their regular business operations (a Privacy by Design approach)

- Consumer choice needs to be presented in a more streamlined fashion than current practice

- Companies should increase the transparency all of their data practices, including those in the parts of their business that don’t engage with consumers directly.

The FTC also sought comment on the development and use of a Do Not Track policy comparable to the Do Not Call list to reduce telemarketing calls. USACM encouraged the FTC in its comments to define Do Not Track in a way that was technology neutral. It is also important to have a Do Not Track system that allows for a variety of consumer choices. There must be some options between track everything and track nothing so that consumers can really craft a personalized Internet experience that reflects their preferences. Additionally, USACM repeated its arguments for a dataflow-based lexicon and enhanced privacy risk models to help ensure consumer privacy online.

The full report can be read online at:
http://ftc.gov/os/2010/12/101201privacyreport.pdf

ACM’s comments can be read online at:
http://usacm.acm.org/PDF/Commerce_Department_Online_Privacy_Comments_USACM.pdf

[5] USACM JOINS STATEMENT OF CONCERN OVER EXPANSION OF INTERCEPT LAW

In the middle of February the Center for Democracy and Technology released a statement it developed to respond to possible changes to the Communications Assistance for Law Enforcement Act (CALEA). USACM is one of the organizations that signed the statement.

The statement was developed due to press reports that there are efforts within the executive branch to expand the law, which requires companies to modify their electronic telecommunications equipment to facilitate wiretaps for law enforcement and other purposes. Originially passed in 1994, CALEA has been expanded to address changes in technology. However, as the statement indicates,

“Clearly, lawful electronic surveillance plays an important role in enabling government agencies to fulfill their obligations to stop crime and to protect national security. These goals, however, must be reconciled with other important societal values, including cybersecurity, privacy, free speech, innovation and commerce.”

The statement goes on to address significant concerns that need to be covered for future changes to laws that deal with electronic communications. It is important to preserve trust in communications systems.This can be achieved by safeguarding cybersecurity, not compromising encryption, protecting privacy and promoting accountability. If these steps (which are given more detail in the statement) are taken, the nation can support innovation and competitiveness interests while preserving lawful interests in electronic surveillance.

There is no specific proposal to change CALEA at the present time. But there is enough of a concern about making sure electronic communications remain secure and productive that a statement like the one CDT issued makes sense.

The full report can be read online at:
http://www.cdt.org/pr_statement/statement-concern-about-expansion-calea

[6] SENATE PASSES PATENT REFORM BILL

On March 8 the Senate passed a bill intended to reform the patent system. S. 23, the Patent Reform Act of 2011, would take steps to harmonize the U.S. patent system with those in the rest of the world. The most notable change amongst them is to make the U.S. system based on the first to file rather than the first to invent. The bill also allows for relevant third parties to file information with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). This information would assist USPTO examiners with the evaluation of the patent. And perhaps most importantly, the bill makes necessary changes to the USPTO that allow it greater control over the fee money that it collects and the ability to establish satellite offices (the first one is planned for Detroit).

The entire Bill can be read online at:

http://www.opencongress.org/bill/112-s23/text

[7] ABOUT USACM

USACM is the U.S. Public Policy Committee of the Association for Computing Machinery (ACM). ACM, the Association for Computing Machinery (www.acm.org), unites computing educators, researchers and professionals to inspire dialogue, share resources and address the field’s challenges. ACM strengthens the computing profession’s collective voice through strong leadership, promotion of the highest standards, and recognition of technical excellence. ACM supports the professional growth of its members by providing opportunities for life-long learning, career development, and professional networking.

USACM acts as the focal point for ACM’s interaction with the U.S. Congress and government organizations. It seeks to educate and assist policy-makers on legislative and regulatory matters of concern to the computing community.

For more information about USACM and ACM, see:

http://www.acm.org/usacm/about.html

BACK ISSUES

For earlier editions of the ACM Washington Update, see:

http://www.acm.org/usacm/update/

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USACM signed a letter sent to the Senate leadership last week urging them to resist the deep cuts to science agency budgets approved recently by the House of Representatives. The cuts would be for the remainder of the current fiscal year. The letter was organized by the Task Force on American Innovation and over 165 organizations have signed on.

The basic argument of the letter was to encourage the continued doubling path for the National Science Foundation, National Institute of Standards and Technology, and the Office of Science at the Department of Energy. Echoing language from the Task Force letter supporting the COMPETES legislation and from the National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform, the letter indicates that even in a time of cuts and savings there is still a need for investment in education, infrastructure, and research and development, especially to help support needed economic growth. The proposed cuts work counter to that need for investment.

The final resolution of this budget debate may be soon, as the current continuing resolution that funds the government is scheduled to expire on March 18.

CONTENTS

[1] Newsletter Highlights
[2] USACM Comments on Proposed Web Accessibility Guidance
[3] USACM Responds to Department of Commerce Online Privacy Report
[4] Computers Freedom And Privacy Conference 2011
[5] NITRD Program Asked for Input on K-12 Computer Science Education
[6] President Signs COMPETES Act Reauthorization
[7] About USACM

[An archive of all previous editions of Washington Update is available at

[1] NEWSLETTER HIGHLIGHTS

There are more details on each item below, as well as on our weblog at:

http://www.acm.org/usacm/weblog:

* USACM submitted comments to the Department of Justice on how to help make websites compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act.

* USACM responds to the Internet Policy Task Force online privacy report by recommending implementation of Fair Information Practice Principles (FIPPs) as well as additional tools for modeling privacy risks.

* The 2011 Computers, Freedom and Privacy Conference will be June 14th through 16 in Washington, D.C. This year’s conference theme is “The Future is Now.”

* The federal Networking and Information Technology Research and Development program sought input on some key questions about K-12 CS education.

* President Obama signed into law the reauthorization of the America COMPETES Act, which supports continued increases in federal support for physical sciences research.

[2] USACM COMMENTS ON PROPOSED WEB ACCESSIBILITY GUIDANCE

The Department of Justice requested comments on some proposed regulations it is working on for website compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). USACM recently submitted comments which included the following recommendations on how to encourage websites covered by the ADA to be compliant.

* Promote Awareness – The public does not have a full understanding of the Americans with Disabilities Act and how it already applies to the Web or how improving accessibility can often be an inexpensive process. Educational resources aimed at improving awareness of the ADA, how it might apply to particular Web sites, and how Web site developers and operators might improve accessibility can reduce resistance and increase compliance.

* Encourage Tool and Software Development – The department should encourage tool and software development to make it easier for developers and content providers to design accessible Web page and Web services.

* Adopt the Section 508 Standards – Section 508 standards are currently required for government Web sites. It will be easier for Web developers and builders to work with a uniform standard rather than one set for federal Web sites and another for non-federal sites that must be ADA-compliant. For that reason we recommend adopting the Section 508 standards over the WCAG 2.0 standards

* Voluntary Certification – We recommend that the Department establish a voluntary certification program for Web sites to demonstrate to visitors that the site is compliant with accessibility standards. This would complement the awareness promotion we recommend.

* Lead by Example – Besides ensuring its own compliance with the ADA, federal government leadership in making its own Web sites compliant will help uncover useful tools and best practices that developers and builders can use in non-governmental Web sites.

* Seek Clarity About Compliance – While the ADA already applies to the Web, there exists no guidance about what must comply, how to comply, and who is responsible for what parts of the compliance process, including auditing.

* Encourage Compliance, Not Removal – Depending on how standards are set, implemented and supported, some Web sites may find it easier to remove content rather than comply with the law. Recognizing that the ADA already has undue burden provisions, the Department should still make sure that people understand the standards and how they can be achieved with reasonable means.

This is the first step in what is likely a long-term process for the Department to draft rules, consult with groups affected by these rules, and finalize those rules.

The full response can be read online at:
http://usacm.acm.org/PDF/USACM_Response_to_DOJ_ANPRM.pdf

[3] USACM RESPONDS TO DEPARTMENT OF COMMERECE ONLINE PRIVACY REPORT

In December the Internet Policy Task Force (a Commerce Department group drawing on expertise from the Patent and Trademark Office, the International Trade Administration, the National Institute of Standards and Technology, and the National Telecommunications and Information Administration) released a report on commercial data privacy. This followed the release earlier that month of a Federal Trade Commission report about online privacy.

USACM submitted comments on the report. A major theme of the comments was that Fair Information Practice Principles (FIPPs) are good (and should be broadly implemented), but they are insufficient in themselves for ensuring data privacy in an age of rapidly shifting practices and technological capabilities. USACM strongly encourages the use of three additional items to help strengthen online privacy protection.

A dataflow-based lexicon – The lexicon would help define flows of personal information and provide meaningful references terms. This will assist in managing the variety of different purposes for which information could be used online and be adaptable to reflect changing technologies.

Enhanced privacy risk models – FIPPs do not adequate address norms and harms, which means that practices that are otherwise compliant with FIPPs could be contrary to what a reasonable person would expect or cause harms. An enhanced privacy risk model would address context and harms, as well as be able to adapt for changes in technology and how those changes affect currently held assumptions about privacy.

Privacy Impact Assessments (PIA) – A practice followed by some government agencies when implementing particular policies, PIAs can help spread the use of enhanced privacy risk models and FIPPs.

With both the Department of Commerce and the Federal Trade Commission spending significant time over online privacy, it is possible that the executive branch may take significant action in this area. In turn, this could motivate Congress to go further in developing online privacy legislation than it has in the past.

The full comments can be read online at:
http://usacm.acm.org/PDF/Commerce_Department_Online_Privacy_Comments_USACM.pdf

[4] COMPUTERS FREEDOM AND PRIVACY CONFERENCE 2011

The Computers, Freedom and Privacy Conference (CFP) will take place this year June 14 through the 16th in Washington D.C. ACM is one of the conference sponsors.

This year’s theme is “The Future is Now. The CFP, the 21st, will take place at the Georgetown University Law Center. The conference, as the name suggests, tackles issues involving the intersections of computing, privacy, and related freedoms. More information will be available soon.

The conference organizers have released their call for submissions. The early bird deadline is March 15, and the final deadline is April 1.

Find out more at the conference website:
http://www.cfp.org/2011/wiki/index.php/Main_Page

[5] NITRD PROGRAM ASKED FOR INPUT ON K-12 COMPUTER SCIENCE EDUCAITION

The federal government asks for advice about education fairly regularly. But it isn’t often that it asks specifically what is needed to advance K-12 computer science education. So it was a pleasant surprise when one federal program asked some key questions about K-12 CS education. Members of our community had the opportunity to speak up about what they think is needed for a stronger K-12 CS education.

Prompted by a report from the Presidents top science advisors, The Networking and Information Technology Research and Development Program (NITRD) asked three sets of big and open-ended questions:

* What CS concepts are important to effective elementary, secondary, and post-secondary curricula? Among these concepts, which are commonly found in curricula today? Which are missing?

* What do teachers need (including preparation and training, tools, and resources) to be able to deliver CS education effectively?

* What factors are important in promoting student interest in CS?

Comments had to be submitted by January 31.

[6] PRESIDENT SIGNS COMPETES ACT REAUTHORIZATION

President Obama signed into law the reauthorization of the America COMPETES Act. The bill continues (among other things) the increasing funding trend for the National Institute of Standards and Technology, the National Science Foundation, and the Office of Science at the Department of Energy started with the American Competitiveness Initiative introduced by President Bush. USACM and ACM’s Education Policy Committee co-authored a letter in support of the bill back in May of 2010, specifically focusing on the parts of the legislation that support science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) education.

Besides extended support for STEM education and increased federal funding for physical science research, the COMPETES reauthorization applies to the Advanced Research Projects Agency – Energy, and gives federal agencies and departments the authority to conduct prize competitions, which is part of President Obama’s Strategy for American Innovation. The funding allowed in the bill will have to be appropriated by Congress, so the fight for the continued budget support is far from over.

BACK ISSUES

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Below is a list of items with policy relevance from the November issue of Communications of the ACM. As always, much of the material in CACM is premium content, and free content one month may slip behind a pay wall the next. You need to be a member of ACM or a subscriber to CACM to access premium content online.

ACM Member News, by Jack Rosenberger
Chris Stephenson, Executive Director of the Computer Science Teachers Association and member of the ACM Education Policy Committee, is interviewed about K-12 computer science education in the U.S.

News: Technology
Security in the Cloud by Gary Anthes
The author outlines security challenges involved with cloud computing (including a lack of clear regulatory or legal guidance) and what researchers are doing to address them.

News: Society
Career Opportunities by Leah Hoffman
Computer science graduates face a reasonably strong labor market, and Hoffman discusses what else is bringing students back to the field.

News: Emerging Technology
Wide Open Spaces by Neil Savage
A brief outline of the possibilities for the recent Federal Communications Commission decision to open frequencies in the broadcast spectrum.

Viewpoints: Legally Speaking
Why Do Software Startups Patent (or Not)? by Pamela Samuelson
Samuelson discusses a recent article that analyzes the 2008 Berkeley Patent Survey.

Viewpoints: Privacy and Security
Why Isn’t Cyberspace More Secure? by Joel F. Brenner
Brenner discusses the perpetual trend of federal cyberspace reviews that yield little progress, and what federal actions could be taken to improve Internet security.

Contributed Articles
Regulating the Information Gatekeepers by Patrick Vogel and Michael Barrett
The authors examine whether or not search-engine ranking should be regulated, at least in part to counter inappropriate search engine optimization and other targeted manipulation of search engine rankings.

Review Articles
Using Complexity to Protect Elections by Piotr Faliszewski, Edith Hemaspaandra, and Lane A. Hemaspaandra
The authors outline an approach to protecting elections where the election is made computationally prohibitive to prohibitive.

CONTENTS

[1] Newsletter Highlights
[2] FCC Draws Line in the Net Neutrality Sand
[3] Computer Science Education Week Extends its Reach
[4] USACM Vice Chair Felten Appointed as First FTC Chief Technologist
[5] Web Accessibility Bill Becomes Law
[6] USACM Expresses Concern Over Intellectual Property Piracy Bill
[7] ACM and CSTA Release Report Outlining Challenges in K-12 Computer Science Education
[8] About USACM

[An archive of all previous editions of Washington Update is available at
http://www.acm.org/usacm/update/]

[1] NEWSLETTER HIGHLIGHTS

There are more details on each item below, as well as on our weblog at http://www.acm.org/usacm/weblog:

* The Federal Communications Commission opened the next phase in the arguments over net neutrality by issuing rules to ‘preserve the Internet as an open network.’
* The second annual Computer Science Education Week was a resounding success, building on the good work of the previous year’s event.
* USACM Vice-Chair Edward Felten has been appointed as the first Chief Technologist of the Federal Trade Commission. He starts his new position on January 4.
* In October legislation to expand accessibility of Internet Protocol-based communications and video services was signed into law.
* USACM expressed concern in a letter to the Senate Judiciary Committee about the implementation of a proposed bill to fight online infringement and counterfeiting of intellectual property.
* ACM and the Computer Science Teachers Association combined forces to produce Running on Empty, a report assessing the challenges facing K-12 computer science education across the country.

[2] FCC DRAWS LINE IN THE NET NEUTRALITY SAND

In what is arguably the end of the beginning of the fights over net neutrality, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) voted 3-2 on December 21 to establish rules intended to “preserve the Internet as an open network enabling consumer choice, freedom of expression, user control, competition and the freedom to innovate.” Since both court and legislative challenges were anticipated well in advance of this vote, and each of the five Commissioners has a different take on the order (their statements are available at the FCC website, http://www.fcc.gov), the vote is the start of something, rather than the end. Preliminary reactions from the public suggest a division of opinion comparable (but perhaps not identical) to that of the Commission.

The order is explained as part of OpenInternet.gov, and the full text is available at:

http://www.fcc.gov/Daily_Releases/Daily_Business/2010/db1223/FCC-10-201A1.pdf

There are three basic rules:

Transparency: Providers of broadband Internet service must publicly disclose information about their network management practices and terms of services to allow consumers to make informed choices and for application/service/content/device providers to develop their products and services for operation on those networks.

No Blocking: Providers of fixed broadband Internet services (this includes cable modems, DSL, and fixed wireless – though there is some confusion in press reports on this last point) cannot block lawful services, applications, content or non-harmful devices, unless subject to reasonable network management. The same is true for applications that might compete with providers’ telephony services (for example, this should ensure that Voice Over Internet Protocol or Skype services can be used on a Comcast or Verizon network).

No Unreasonable Discrimination: Providers of fixed broadband services cannot unreasonably discriminate in transmitting lawful network traffic to consumers. Reasonable network management does not constitute unreasonable discrimination.

The FCC is pointedly exempting mobile networks (primarily cellular telephones) from the last two rules, under the presumption that the infrastructure and/or competitors in this space are not sufficiently mature to allow for completely open network management. This will likely be a point of contention in some circles, but will not likely attract as much attention as the fights over whether the FCC is within its authority to establish these rules, or whether the need for such rules exists. Those fights should last for years.

[3] COMPUTER SCIENCE EDUCATION WEEK EXTENDS ITS REACH

The 2nd annual Computer Science Education Week (CSEdWeek) wrapped up December 11, and it was a smashing success. With a new website (http://www.csedweek.org) providing targeted resources and more than 270 CSEdWeek-related events and activities we were able to engage students, parents, teachers and the computing community around the world.

What started out last year has grown into a full fledged community effort supported by the United States Congress. This year’s effort was a collaborative effort of the Association for Computing Machinery (ACM), National Science Foundation (NSF), Computer Science Teachers Association (CSTA), National Center for Women & IT (NCWIT), WGBH, Computing Research Association (CRA), Anita Borg Institute for Women in Technology (ABI), Microsoft, Google, SAS, Intel, and the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA). CSEdWeek is also a major awareness building activity of a new coalition called Computing in the Core (http://www.computinginthecore.org/), a non-partisan advocacy coalition of associations, corporations, scientific societies, and other non-profits that strive to elevate computer science education to a core academic subject in K-12 education.

This year we asked the computing community and our partners to get out and spread the word about the impact of computing and the dire need for better computer science education. We had a diversity of pledges from around the world to hold events and carry out activities. The Canadian universities were particularly active, with more than 25 campuses hosting CSEdWeek events ranging from computing camps to public videos and various student competitions to CSUnplugged sessions.

CSEdWeek received almost 1700 pledges of support from 45 states in the US (in addition to DC, Guam and Puerto Rico) and 34 other countries. 45% of the pledges came from Massachusetts and California, while the highest pledging cities included Marlborough and Shrewsbury, Massachusetts and Irvine, California. Over 33% of the support pledges came from K-12 students, 17% from college students, and 15% from K-12 teachers. These statistics indicate that we achieved our goal of engaging students and teachers as well as the computing community around the world.

Note: This is a edited version of a post at Blog@CACM, the blog connected to Communications of the ACM It was written by Debra Richardson, Chair of the 2010 Computer Science Education Week, and ACM Director of Public Policy, Cameron Wilson.

Full Post available at: http://cacm.acm.org/blogs/blog-cacm/102979-computer-science-education-week-extends-its-reach/fulltext

[4] USACM VICE CHAIR FELTEN APPOINTED AS FIRST FTC CHIEF TECHNOLOGIST

Ed Felten, noted computer science researcher, Director of Princeton’s Center for Information Technology Policy, and one of USACM’s Vice Chairs, has been appointed Chief Technologist at the Federal Trade Commission (FTC). This is a new position for the Commission (the Federal Communications Commission has had one for years), and Felten will serve for a one-year term.
As Chief Technologist, Felten will advise the Commission on emerging technology and policy issues. Felten is no stranger to Washington, having testified before Congress and consulted with the Justice and Defense Departments, in addition to his previous work for the FTC. Congratulations to Ed on his appointment!

[5] WEB ACCESSIBILITY BILL BECOMES LAW

In October the President signed into law the 21st Century Communications and Video Accessibility Act of 2010. Spearheaded by Representative Edward Markey of Massachusetts, the law will apply standards of accessibility to online services. Provisions of the law include:

• Extend general accessibility provisions for equipment that provides voice communication to include Voice over Internet Protocol, electronic messaging and video conferencing services.
• Video programming shown with captions on televisions must also provide captions if transmitted over the Internet.
• Emergency information shown on television or similar display devices must also provide some audio to reach those with visual impairments.
• User interfaces for equipment that displays video information must be accessible, and any associated remote control must have a captioning button.
• On-screen guides and text menus provided by navigation devices must also be accessible.

The full text of the law is available at http://www.govtrack.us/congress/billtext.xpd?bill=s111-3304

[6] USACM EXPRESSES CONCERN OVER INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY PIRACY BILL

In late September the Combating Online Infringement and Counterfeits Act (COICA) was introduced and quickly moved to a markup and vote by the Senate Judiciary Committee. The bill as written would allow the Justice Department to command changes in Internet services to restrict the ability of pirate websites to operate. While USACM supports the goal of the bill – to restrict the actions of intellectual property infringers and counterfeiters – there are sufficient legal, regulatory and technical questions on the enforcement of the bill that warrant a more careful consideration and examination of the bill. USACM sent a letter to the Chair and Ranking Member of the Committee to that effect, supporting other letter sent by public interest, library and commercial groups.

The bill made it through the Senate Judiciary Committee in November, but ultimately stalled in the waining session of the 111th Congress. Senator Coburn noted the various letters expressing concerns about the bill at the time of the letter. The Senate may revisit it during the new, 112th Congress, which convenes in early January.

[7] ACM AND CSTA RELEASE REPORT OUTLINING CHALLENGES IN K-12 COMPUTER SCIENCE EDUCATION

At a National Press Club event on October 6, ACM and the Computer Science Teachers Association (CSTA) released its report Running on Empty. According to the report, roughly two-thirds of the country have few computer science education standards for secondary school education, and most states treat high school computer science courses as simply an elective and not part of a student’s core education. Given the increasing importance of computer science and computing in everyday life, this is a serious problem. Read the full report at the link below, or download PDF versions of the full report and executive summary.

The release of the report was part of the announcement of Computing in the Core, a non-partisan advocacy coalition focused on building a strong K-12 education program in computer science. Both ACM and CSTA are members, along with other associations, corporations, scientific societies and non-profits all committed to this goal. You can read more about Computing in the Core at the website or in the press release announcing the coalition and highlighting conclusions from Running on Empty.

Report – http://www.acm.org/runningonempty/
Computing in the Core website – http://www.computinginthecore.org
Coalition Press Release – http://www.acm.org/press-room/news-releases/2010/education-paradox

[8] ABOUT USACM

USACM is the U.S. Public Policy Committee of the Association for Computing Machinery (ACM). ACM, the Association for Computing Machinery www.acm.org, unites computing educators, researchers and professionals to inspire dialogue, share resources and address the field’s challenges. ACM strengthens the computing profession’s collective voice through strong leadership, promotion of the highest standards, and recognition of technical excellence. ACM supports the professional growth of its members by providing opportunities for life-long learning, career development, and professional networking.

USACM acts as the focal point for ACM’s interaction with the U.S. Congress and government organizations. It seeks to educate and assist policy-makers on legislative and regulatory matters of concern to the computing community.

For more information about USACM and ACM, see:

http://www.acm.org/usacm/about.html

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Below is a list of items with policy relevance from the October issue of Communications of the ACM. As always, much of the material in CACM is premium content, and free content one month may slip behind a pay wall the next. You need to be a member of ACM or a subscriber to CACM to access premium content online.

News: Society
Should Code be Released? by Dennis McCafferty
The author covers the various pros and cons behind disclosing software code connected to scientific research.

Contributed Articles
How Offshoring Affects IT Workers by Prasanna B. Tambe and Lorin M. Hitt
The authors present an analysis of survey data on how offshoring affects the U.S. work force. They find that jobs dealing with more personal delivery of products or services are much less likely to be sent offshore.

Below is a list of items with policy relevance from the September issue of Communications of the ACM. As always, much of the material in CACM is premium content, and free content one month may slip behind a pay wall the next. You need to be a member of ACM or a subscriber to CACM to access premium content online.

News: Technology
Cycling Through Data by Neil Savage
Sensor-equipped bicycles are functioning as moving data sources for riders, researchers and policy makers.

News: Society
Degrees, Distance and Dollars by Marina Krakovsky
While technology has arguably made online education cheaper to provide, this is not typically reflected in tuition rates. Online education also thrives more in specialized, masters and doctoral programs than in bachelors programs.

Column: Law and Technology
Principles of the Law of Software Contracts by Robert A. Hillman and Maureen A. O’Rourke
The American Law Institute has developed a new set of legal principles for software contracts. The principles, as well as the tensions brought out in the drafting process, are the focus of this article.

Column: The Profession of IT
Discussing Cyber Attack by Peter J. Denning and Dorothy E. Denning
With reports of government activity in the area of cyber attack and exploitation, it’s past time that discussions take place with computer professionals about it, if for no better reason than to improve capacity in cyber defense.

Practice
Computers in Patient Care: The Promise and the Challenge by Stephen V. Cantrill
The author, a doctor with over thirty years experience in medical informatics, reviews the areas where computers have had significant and less-than-significant impact on patient care.

Last Byte: Future Tense
Little Brother Is Watching by Greg Bear
The author outlines a potential future where surveillance is everywhere and regular citizens participate in the watching and reporting.

Below is a list of items with policy relevance from the August issue of Communications of the ACM. As always, much of the material in CACM is premium content, and free content one month may slip behind a pay wall the next. You need to be a member of ACM or a subscriber to CACM to access premium content online.

News: Society
Making Sense of Real-Time Behavior by Sarah Underwood
An article covering ‘reality mining’ – data capture and analysis from networks of sensors worn on the human body.

Viewpoints: Education
Preparing Computer Science Students for the Robotics Revolution by David S. Touretzky
The author outlines how robotics holds the potential to transform computer science curriculum, assuming certain impediments are dealt with.

Viewpoints: Privacy and Security
Remembrances of Things Pest by Eugene Spafford
The USACM Chair reviews past malware anniversaries as a means to re-emphasize the factors behind malware and the ways it could be reduced.

Viewpoints
Rights for Autonomous Artificial Agents? by Samir Chopra
A discussion of how shopping bots and similar autonomous programs could or should function within existing legal frameworks.

The Securities and Exchange Commission recently issued a request for comments on proposed changes to the rules regulating asset-backed securities. Part of the suggested changes included a requirement to file a computer program of the contractual cash flow provisions expressed in a particular computer language – Python.

In connection with ACM’s Special Interest Group for Programming Languages – SIGPLAN – USACM submitted comments addressing that proposed change.

The detailed set of comments addresses some specific issues with the proposal, which include the need to make sure that all inputs and outputs for the program are at the same level of detail as the Asset Data File. Those issues prompted USACM and SIGPLAN to recommend the final proposal be run as a trial. A summary of the comments emphasizes the following points.
Read More »

Below is a list of items with policy relevance from the July issue of Communications of the ACM. As always, much of the material in CACM is premium content, and free content one month may slip behind a pay wall the next. You need to be a member of ACM or a subscriber to CACM to access premium content online.

News
Sharing Computational Perspectives by David Lindley
A review of recent projects in other disciplines that benefit from computer science expertise, including Federal Communications Commission spectrum auctions.

Censored! by Samuel Greengard
A description of how, and for what reasons, some countries censor Internet access and activity. Includes a discussion of means to breach efforts at Internet control.

Viewpoints: Legally Speaking
Should the Google Book Settlement Be Approved? by Pamela Samuelson
Samuelson reviews the history of the Google Books class action suit and proposed settlement. She argues that the out-of-print works provisions of the settlement are counter to the open access preferences of academic writers.

Viewpoints: Broadening Participation
Cultivating Cultural Diversity in Information Technology by Valerie Taylor
Describes the new Center for Minorities and People with Disabilities in IT, started in March 2010, and the reasons such a center is needed.

CONTENTS

[1] Newsletter Highlights
[2] USACM and ACM’s Education Policy Committee Offer Support for COMPETES
[3] USACM Releases Issue Brief on Internet Voting
[4] USACM Comments on Internet Privacy Bill Discussion Draft
[5] Yet Another Cybersecurity Bill Introduced in Congress
[6] Federal Communications Commission Looks for Third Way to Address Broadband
[7] About USACM

[An archive of all previous editions of Washington Update is available at
http://www.acm.org/usacm/update/]
Read More »

Below is a list of items with policy relevance from the June issue of Communications of the ACM. As always, much of the material in CACM is premium content, and free content one month may slip behind a pay wall the next. You need to be a member of ACM or a subscriber to CACM to access premium content online.

News
Beyond the Smart Grid by Tom Geller
While most references to the smart grid cover the potential impact on energy savings, the networking and monitoring of household devices have the potential to provide more benefits than a smaller utility bill.

Privacy and Security
Myths and Fallacies of ‘Personally Identifiable Information’ by Arvind Narayanan and Vitaly Shmatikov
The exponential growth in the collection of data and the ability to sift through it quickly has weakened the ability to effectively disconnect data from the person it describes. This has significant consequences for policies that come from a time when de-identifying data was considered effective privacy protection on its own.

Viewpoints: Law and Technology
Intel’s Rebates: Above Board or Below the Belt? by François Lévêque
A review of the antitrust case involving Intel and its use of rebate payments.