March 29, 2002

Dear Chairman Hollings:

As the Co-Chairs of USACM, the U.S. Public Policy Committee of the Association for Computing Machinery, we are writing to express the profound concerns of the computing community regarding the recent introduction of S.2048, the Consumer Broadband and Digital Television Promotion Act (CBDTPA).

Although we are aware of the challenges to copyright protection imposed by computing and communications technology, USACM is utterly convinced that the solution is not to be found in legislation imposing limits on the technology that may be developed, purchased, or used by law-abiding citizens. Furthermore, respected scientists and technologists, including many USACM members, have concluded that the CBDTPA will threaten the ability of individuals to engage in critical research, interfere in the otherwise legal exchange of ideas and information fundamental to innovation, seriously restrict the quality of computing education, and undoubtedly threaten national security.

Virtually every significant computing device in use today transmits, copies, or displays digital information. While the CBDTPA-imposed restrictions seek to prevent copyrighted work from being copied from one place on a disk or the network to another, the far-reaching restrictions would also interfere with literally thousands of other legal, non-infringing uses of digital computing, including:

¨ distribution of open source software for use in education and research

¨ creation of a student project to learn about operating systems

¨ distribution of an urgent software patch to fix a serious security flaw

¨ transmission of security alerts to law enforcement agencies

¨ dissemination of anti-cancer drug research results funded by the US government

¨ personal speech by individuals using Internet telephony to communicate

¨ legitimate and legal speech, as in the posting of mail in support of a political candidate

¨ free on-line performances of music or poetry by the legitimate copyright holder.

This interference is certain under the CBDTPA because there is no way to reliably distinguish protected content from everything else. In addition, this overly broad approach seeks to criminalize many activities rather than narrowly focusing on infringement with criminal intent.

Further restrictions on technological innovation will harm our overall economic growth and threaten our national security. While the provisions of the CBDTPA would place restrictions on technology and innovation in the U.S., non-U.S. inventors and other foreign individuals will not be bound by this statute. Thus, they will be free to investigate powerful hardware and software. At the least, this will allow (some of) them to make illicit copies of copyrighted material for redistribution in the U.S. At the worst, it means that they will be able to innovate in ways that our domestic researchers and educators will not, leading to a loss of technological standing.It also means they may be able to craft information warfare tools that we cannot counter or investigate because of domestic restrictions.

The CBDTPA makes several mistaken assumptions. For instance, there are many reasons why the U.S. public has been slow to adopt broadband technology: lack of entertainment-based programming is not the only cause, and may not be a major factor. As another instance, the CBDTPA appears to be based on mistaken understanding about what is possible to accomplish with copyright protection technology. Mandating security system standards for use by general-purpose computers, devices, and software will do little to protect content as current copy protection schemes that have undergone serious public scrutiny have been demonstrated to be ineffective. Attempting to achieve the technology mandates as proscribed by the CBDTPA will require additional hardware and compatible software to be imbedded in general purpose computers, resulting in increased costs to consumers and the degradation of product functionality and performance.

Entertainment is only one, relatively minor use (compared to all uses) of networks and computing technology. Legislating constraints on technology to aid any minority interest has the potential to cause widespread and severe damage to society at large. As a publisher with a large digital library, ACM has major interests in copyright, as do our members. We are concerned about the protection of our property, but we are addressing this challenge through the investigation of new business models and methods better suited to a "wired" world. Just as the introduction of photocopiers and videotape led to the development of new markets rather than the collapse of old industries with a perceived risk, we believe that the digital capabilities we all already depend on can lead to new markets and opportunities for those willing to make the effort. That future cannot be achieved by erecting artificial barriers, penalizing law-abiding citizens and their activities, sacrificing our technological advantages, and entrenching a minority position at the expense of the American public.

The USACM is pleased to offer our technical expertise to assist policy-makers in the development of computing and information technology policy. Please contact the ACM Public Policy Office at (202)659-9711, if you have any questions or if we can be of assistance.

Sincerely,

Barbara Simons, Ph.D.
Eugene H. Spafford, Ph.D
Co-Chairs
U.S. ACM Public Policy Committee
Association for Computing Machinery

About USACM:

USACM is the U.S. Public Policy Committee of the Association for Computing Machinery (ACM). ACM is the leading nonprofit membership organization of computer scientists and information technology professionals dedicated to advancing the art, science, engineering and application of information technology. Since 1947, ACM has been a pioneering force in fostering the open interchange of information and promoting both technical and ethical excellence in computing. Over 70,000 computer scientists and information technology professionals from around the world are members of ACM.