Why You Should Care Very Much About a 26-Page Legal Filing: And Thank a Bunch of Associations

Click here to receive your FREE subscription to Campus Technology

Home > Why You Should Care Very Much About a 26-Page Legal Filing: And Thank a Bunch of Associations

Current News

Why You Should Care Very Much About a 26-Page Legal Filing: And Thank a Bunch of Associations

4/21/2004

By Terry Calhoun

" But, as the coalition says, a proper solution involves the full and open participation of the Congress and the technology community," not just an administrative process within the FCC. And it should consider the serious, potentially negative consequences on the Internet and the development of new technologies in a balancing fashion, which isn't something I hear as a major concern in the Justice Department's petition.

The coalition urges the FCC to understand that (a) the legislative branch considered Internet access at the time, in 1994, when CALEA was first passed, and specifically exempted it from CALEA; and (b) that if there is to be a change in CALEA that would bring Internet access within its purview, such a change should be done legislatively, not by Justice Department fiat.

The higher education additionally believes that the FCC's acceptance of the petition would: "inhibit innovation, compromise privacy, and be costly at a time when budgets are already strained to the breaking point." Where d'es some of that expense come from? Well, anyone who provides Internet access (including libraries, universities, and colleges) would have to bring existing equipment into compliance within 15 months, and set up and staff 24x7 security offices.

Further, the petition asks for acceptance of the proposition that any new advancement in technology should (a) include a surveillance solution within the technology itself and (b) get Department of Justice and FCC approval before it is implemented. Just imagine what that could do to hundreds of initiatives on our campuses, including things like the Internet2 and the Sakai Project.

The higher education coalition also notes that the department's petition to the FCC d'es not adequately address encryption and that advances in encryption will make what the Justice Department really wants to do impossible anyway - but not without first costing everyone involved a lot of time and money.

You may disagree with the coalition, or with me. That's fine. But this piece of administrative branch security work can greatly affect the life of anyone in higher education IT. Think about reading some the links above and these more general articles from the Washington Post and ZDNet, and see how you feel about this issue. A site with a negative perspective on the petition in general is that of the Center for Democracy and Technology; one with a positive perspective is AskCALEA.

I know that when my trusted colleagues at the American Association of Community Colleges, the American Council on Education, the Association of College and Research Libraries, the National Association of College and University Business Offices, and EDUCAUSE oppose the petition, I very much trust their perspectives on its consequences.

If you are moved to take the time to communicate with your elected officials about it, which I hope you are, then use this great League of Women Voters Web site, the Democracy Net, which can instantly tell you who they are and how to contact them.

About the author: Terry Calhoun is Director of Communications and Publications for the Society for College and University Planning (SCUP). You can contact him through CT's IT Trends forum by clicking here. View more articles by Terry Calhoun.

Cite this Site

Terry Calhoun, "Why You Should Care Very Much About a 26-Page Legal Filing: And Thank a Bunch of Associations," Campus Technology, 4/21/2004, http://www.campustechnology.com/article.aspx?aid=39773

copy text (above) for proper citation