ccr@duke.UUCP (11/01/84)
I am posting this to the net to solicit comments on some legislation that might affect your use of networks like USEnet, CSnet, and ARPAnet. This information comes from a friend of mine who is a reporter assigned to the Hunt/Helms senate race (N.C.). As part of her research, she obtained a copy of a confidential draft of a bill prompted by the recent split of ARPAnet. The bill will be submitted to the next session of Congress, and she wanted me, as a computer scientist, to comment on the possible effects. The bill is co-sponsored by Senator Helms and a member of the Communi- cations Subcommittee of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, and would prohibit the use of non-secure data networks for the transmission of research material retricted by the Department of Commerce Controlled Commodities List. For those of you not familiar with the list, it covers almost everything of interest in computer science. I was outraged (to say the least), and told her this would probably destroy the use of academic networks and greatly restrict the flow of research information. Your comments would be appreciated (post comments to net.followup; she will not use names in any news articles). I have already written to Senator Helms (SD402, Dirksen Office Building, Washington, DC, 20510). Helms is notorious for extreme right-wing views. There is no doubt in my mind that he believes enough in this to follow through. Carl Romano (ccr@duke)
ccr@duke.UUCP (11/01/84)
ommuni- cations Subcommittee of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, and would prohibit the use of non-secure data networks for the transmission of research material retricted by the Department of Commerce Controlled Commodities List. For those of you not familiar with the list, it covers almost everything of interest in computer science. I was outraged (to say the least), and told her this would probably destroy the use of academic networks and greatly restrict the flow of research information. Your comments would be appreciated (post comments to net.followup; she will not use names in any news articles). I have already written to Senator Helms (SD402, Dirksen Office Building, Washington, DC, 20510). Helms is notorious for extreme right-wing views. There is no doubt in my mind that he believes enough in this to follow through. Carl Romano (ccr@duke)
djw@imsvax.UUCP (Donald Whytock) (11/05/84)
To a certain degree, I can see their point. After all, USENET DOES stretch from Frisco to Australia, going the long way. It makes a certain amount of sense that the government would want to restrict some of the flow of research data, much of which is government-funded, from travelling by word-of-electronic mouth all around the equator. There is a sense of it being almost TOO easy to post information worldwide. ("Hey, Amsterdam, wanna buy a '69 Chevy?") However, perhaps there are better methods than curtailing the net as a whole. Things which are not fit for academic exchanges over conventional channels (tech journals, exchange programs, mail, etc.) are probably not fit for USENET either; therefore, perhaps, limiting the spread of information can be performed at the individual net-site (which, after all, is easier than policing the net). Alternately, it may be time to lobby for changes to the Department of Commerce's list, in view of what is now worldwide public knowledge. Has anyone got a copy of the list that can be posted? Don Whytock ...!allegra!umcp-cs!eneevax!imsvax!djw
earlw@pesnta.UUCP (Earl Wallace) (11/05/84)
How could the Government interfere with USENET? This is a free Nation and "We the People" control the Government...... right? I guess writing about the internals of a Computer is restricted information and could cause death and destruction to all mankind? Maybe the Government should encourage communications between people instead of putting up barriers all the time. Would the U.S. be were it is today if only the "top-secret" cleared scientists were able to exchange information on advanced topics and the rest of us "uncleared" personnel could only talk about new ways of preparing meatloaf salads? All I can thing of now is the phrase "divide and conquer". Divide the People by preventing them from communicating to each other, then pass laws that are very complex and require a group effort to understand, then the Nation is yours to command. Next step is to make it illegal to transmit any computer information over a phone line without a special "export" license since its so easy to dial up a site outside the U.S. and "dump" all those secrets... maintain some sort of technoligical lead in the World. Or we can continue to shut down comm-paths until each person is only allowed to talk to one other person. We can have word-of-mouth communication and soon we will be eating out of stone bowls and hunting for food with our bare hands. -- Earl Wallace UUCP: ..!{ihnp4, ucbvax!hplabs, ucbvax!twg}!pesnta!earlw PHONE: (408) 727-5540 x230 USMAIL: Perkin-Elmer Corp., Santa Clara, Calif. 95054
jaap@haring.UUCP (11/06/84)
Don't be afraid, maybe your government won't allow you to use USEnet anymore, but if you are lucky, you can always make a phone call to the rest of the world. jaap