STP 301: Introduction to Information Policy

Professor: Jean Camp

An Aside

On Assignments:

Each assignment is to be between 500-700, with the exception of the convergence assignment. The convergence assignment is a two week assignment and should be 1500 words.

Since the reading should be done before Monday the assignment is due Wednesday.

History: The Long View

Of what significance is an information revolution? Does such a thing matter? Does it exist? How did a previous information revolution change history and how might this revolution change our current society? IS there an information revolution or it all just hype?

The class this week has the greatest volume of reading of any class. However, the reading will provide a high level framing underlying the importance (or lack thereof) of the policy discussions in the following weeks.

Reading:

• Poole, Technologies of Freedom, Poole, Ch 1-3
• Eisenstein, The Printing Revolution in Early Modern Europe, pp. 12-41
• The Guttenberg Galaxy, Marshall McLuhan, University of Toronto Press, 1997 reprint, pp 23-31

Recommended further reading (for the beach next summer?):

• Castells Manuel, The Information Age: Economy, Society and Culture, Blackwell Publishers (1996).
• Greene, Brian, The Elegant Universe, Random House, NY, NY, (1999) pp. 3-17
• Sherry Turkle, Life on the Screen: Identity in the Age of the Internet (1995)
• Frank Webster, Theories of the Information Society (1996)
• Howard Rheingold, The Virtual Community: Homesteading on the Electronic Frontier (1993)
• Mark Stefik, ed., Internet Dreams: Archetypes, Myths and Metaphors (1996)

The Internet: what is it?, how does it work?

Reading:

• Sharon E. Gillett, MIT & Mitchell Kapor, Kapor Enterprises on what is the Internet
• Zen and the Art of the Internet also available as a text for money if one finds it very interesting. Read as much as you need to.

History Assignment

Related Readings & links:

• A tutorial on the Internet.
• Yahoo! on Internet history
• Barry M. Leiner et al. A Brief History of the Internet
• Robert H. Zakon, Hobbes' Internet Timeline v3.

History: The Near View, The Traditional Media

There have been a regulatory (and conceptual) structures built around the conception that there exist four discrete media types. Controls on speech, liability, and the funding of universal service all depend upon these distinctions. Yet all of these media types are arguably extant on the Internet today.

Readings

• The Four Media: This paper discusses how the four media types fit and fail in cyberspace. Read until "Media failures" There is no need to read the section on media failures.
• The Digital Tornado
• Five Challenges for Policy Makers by Pam Samuelson

Convergence Assignment

Related Readings & links:

• European Union: The Green Paper
• The OpenNet Coalition dedicated to open access.
  
• The local open access org Massachusetts local access.
  
• H. H. Lalani, Broadband Networks: The First Hundred Feet: The local access network perspective. Outlines stake holders.
  
  

Convergence & Access

What is broadband? How might the information infrastructure be realized in the next decade? How might the wires int he ground create different forms of regulation?

Reading:

• A history of Universal Service
• Defending the Internet Revolution in the Broadband Era: When Doing Nothing is Doing Harm
• A workshop held by IEEE and Cornell on the Telecom Infrastructure in the Next Decade.  Includes four papers describing all the technologies and four scenarios. The final selected scenarios are the ones of interest. This workshop was the basis of a special issue of info magazine, check

Convergence Assignment Due Wednesday

Related Readings & links:

• FAIR states that the current role of government is to protect investors, in a special issue on telecommunications.
• D. Clark, A Taxonomy of Internet Telephony Applications from the Internet Telephony Consortium.
  
• S. E. Gillett, Technological Change, Market Structure, and Universal Service outlines the principles of the next regime in universal.
• D. Clark, A Taxonomy of Internet Telephony Applications from the Internet Telephony Consortium
• Benton Library on Universal Service

Information Ownership:Copyright

Intellectual property is an amorphous concept with multiple categories and distinctions. In terms of information property the most interesting are copyright, patents, and secrets. Copyright and patents are very different.

• Finding a Balance,
  Chapter 5 on Digital Information and Copyrights (pp164/228 in pdf, pp161 on paper)
• Digital Dilemma, the Executive Summary, pp1-19
• Jonathan Zittrain, "The Un-Microsoft Un-Remedy: Law Can Prevent the Problem That it Can't Patch Later," 31 Connecticut L. Rev. 1361 (1999). 

Copyright Assignment

Related Readings & links:

• EFF "Digital Millenium Copyright Act (DMCA)" Archive
• The American Committee for Interoperable Systems provides papers, positions and amicus briefs regarding the National Information Infrastructure (NII), software interoperability and copyright issues.
• The Magazine of Law and Policy for High Technology features articles on the latest developments in the laws as they relate to technology and the information.
• The Software Patent Institute provides courses and prior art in software technology in an effort to improve the software patent process.
• The U.S. Copyright Office is an administrative arm of Congress responsible for registering copyrights and developing related policies and regulations.
• The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit provides current opinions on patent litigation and schedules for the CAFC.
• The U.S. House of Representatives Internet Law Library - Intellectual Property provides a useful archive of legislative history and reports on intellectual property matters.
• World Intellectual Property Organization convenes meetings to draft intellectual property treaties for member nations.

• Julie Cohen  "Some Reflections on Copyright Management Systems and Laws Designed to Protect Them," 12 Berkeley Tech. L.J. 161 (1997).

• Mark Stefik. Shifting the Possible: How Trusted Systems and Digital Property Rights Challenge Us to Rethink Digital Publishing, 12 Berkeley Tech. L.J. 137 (1997).
  
• John Perry Barlow. The Economy of Ideas
• Julie Cohen. The Right to Read Anonymously
  
• Mark Stefik. Trusted Systems. Scientific American.
  
• 17 U.S.C. 107, Fair Use
• NOTs on the Net: Early History of NOTs
• Jonathan Band, Digital Millennium Copyright Act Analysis (especially Title I).
• 17 USC ch. 10, Digital Audio Recording Devices and Media (browse online)
• Joe Nickell, Samples Silence Negativeland, WiredNews, Sept. 1, 1998.
• Listen to "U2/Negativeland: The Forbidden Single"
• Sony Corp. v. Universal City Studios, Inc. 464 U.S. 417 (1984).
• Charles C.Mann.Who Will Own Your Next Good Idea?The Atlantic Monthly, Sept. 1998.
• Life Liberty and the Pursuit of Copyright, Atlantic Unbound round table, Sept. 1998. (browse online)
• Courtney Macavinta Scientologists in Trademark Dispute.

Information Ownership:DeCSS

There is a distinct disagreement between the legal and computer science communities on reverse engineering, and in particular the case of DeCSS. DeCSS is either the result of hacker who is interested in engaging and enabling large-scale or ubiquitous theft of intellectual property or it is the unbundling of the operating system and the content.

Reading:

• Samuelson: Towards More Sensible Anti-circumvention legislation
• A legal report on DeCSS and the DMCA
• The DVD FAQ section on DeCSS
• Finding a Balance,
  review pp7 - De compilation

DeCSS Assignment

Related Readings & links:

• There will be an update on the OpenDVD.org page, unusual in that it is where industry and developers meet
• Scientific America is note widely noted for its radical stances, thus their opinion on DeCSS is interesting.
• Drave's excellent page on DeCSS
• The best DVD FAQ
• The Berkman Law Center has a DeCSS project
• IEEE-USA Amicus Curiae brief supporting appropriate uses of reverse engineering, submitted to the California Sixth District Court of Appeals in the case of Brunner vs. DVD Copy Control Association (No. H021153) (7/5/00)
  And these may help with the assignment
• The Microsoft Case Homepage
• Judge Thomas Penfield Jackson's Findings of Fact, November 5, 1999
  
• Jonathan Zittrain, Intellectual capital.com, "The Right Microsoft Remedy -- and Beyond"
  
• Chicago Tribune, "U.S. v. Microsoft: The Expert Opinion"
  
• Red Herring, "It Reads Like a Novel" 
  
• CNet, "'Plausible Benefit' is key phrase in Microsoft trial"
  
• Red Herring article, "Pondering Microsoft's Breakup Valuation"
  
• Slate Discussion, Jonathan Zittrain & George Priest, "Microsoft: Did Judge Jackson Get it Right?"
• Industry Standard, "Microsoft, Feds enter final round"
  
• New York Times, "Closing Arguments Underscore Gap Between Microsoft and U.S."  This link will lead you to the New York Times on-line; you may need to sign in for free with the New York Times to access this article but any information you give the NYTimes they will sell in a most aggressive manner. Of course there is no reason that the information you provide must be true.
  
• Red Herring, "The Case Against the Microsoft Suit"
• Paul David, Clio and the Economics of QWERTY, 75 American Economic Review, 332 (1985) on the power of standards.
  
• Stan Liebowitz & Stephen E. Margolis, Should Technology Choice Be a Concern of Antitrust Policy?, 9 Harv. J. L. & Tech. 283, selections (1996).

Information Ownership: Patents

Reading:

• Against Software Patents by the League for Programming Freedom, CACM 1/92, and also look at an organization which better explains the concepts of open code.
• Heckel "Debunking the software patent myths ( CACM 6/92)
• Ask Tim asks Jeff: Bezos and O'Reilly on software patents

Patent Assignment

Related Links:

• The United States Patent and Trademark Office is responsible for registering U.S. patents and trademarks and developing related policies and regulations.
• MIT site about patents, general information
• Introduction to patenting
• The GPL Manifesto.
• Richard Stallman. The GNU Operating System and the Free Software Movement.
• Tim O'Reilly. Hardware Software and Infoware.
• Lawrence Lessig. Reclaiming the Commons.
• Linux Weekly News
• Slashdot

Speech & Content Control

Reading:

• Technologies of Freedom: Ch 7 - 8
• You are required to read the text of the decision on CDA I which specifically mentions a place you are NOT required to visit but a view provides an important perspective on the decision, that is, Stop Prison Rape. You may also consider, but are NOT required to view, other kinds of content which may be "harmful to children" at the Southern Poverty Law Center's List of Hate Sites
• CPSR Filtering FAQ
• Lawrence Lessig, Tyranny of the Infrastructure, Wired 5.07 (July 1997)

Speech Assignment

Related Readings & links:

• SurfWatch Core Category Criteria
• Cyber Patrol Fact Sheet
• The Plain Facts About Internet Content Filtering, Cyber Sitter
• Frequently Asked Questions About Dotsafe Internet Access
• Hate Filter Frequently Asked Questions
• Intel v. Hamidi - Tentative Ruling on Motion for Summary Judgement, April 28, 1999
• Blumenthal v. Drudge, 992 F.Supp. 44 (D.C.D.C. 1998).
• Judson Branam. Student with On-Line Fantasy Can't Go to Class Feb. 7, 1995.
• Red Lion Broad. Co. v. FCC. 395 U.S. 367 (1969).
• Turner Broad. v. FCC. 520 U.S. 180 (1997).
• Marsh v. Alabama. 326 U.S. 501 (1946).
• Compuserve Inc. v. Cyber Promotions, Inc. 962 F. Supp. 1015 (S.D. Oh. 1996).
• Cyber Promotions, Inc. v. America Online. 948 F. Supp. 436 (E.D. Pa. 1996).
• Amy Harmon Hacker Group Commandeers Times Web Site. The New York Times on the Web, Sept. 14, 1998. (Free registration required.)
• Electronic Disturbance Theater
• EDT Letter to Supporters
• Ben Elgin Online Barbie Hunt Draws Criticism, ZDNet, Nov. 26, 1997.
• The Distorted Barbie
• Jonathan Wallace. "CyberPatrol: The Friendly Censor"
• Letter from Morality in Media Opposing the Decision by CyberPatrol to Block the American Family Association Web Site On Grounds of "Intolerance"
• What Things Regulate Speech: CDA 2.0 v. Filtering (pdf file) Enough is Enough
• Peacefire.org
• Child Online Protection Act
• Library net filters violate free speech
• Parodies of Scientology Web Graphics
• Scientology home page
• White v. Samsung Electronics America.989 F.2d 1512 (9th Cir. 1993) (Kosinski, J., dissenting)
• Jake Baker: his speech or her privacy? MacKinnon believes its privacy and Steinhardt thinks it speech.

Privacy

The current lawsuits on encryption focus on a single legal question: is code speech? Yet in this class we will discuss other issues, as the code as speech will no doubt come up before through the discussion of ownership of information.

Reading:

• Froomkin, The Metaphor is the Key: Cryptography, the Clipper Chip and the Constitution . You are required to read only Sections I A, B and C1, Section II and III, (and the appendix if you need it)
• Tim May, The Crypto Anarchist Manifesto

Crypto Assignment

Related Readings & links:

• Julie Cohen's The Right to Read Anonymously
• I Can See You by Justin Boyan
• Flood Control on the Information Ocean: Living With Anonymity, Digital Cash, and Distributed Databases Part I and Section A of Part II
• Foucault In Cyberspace: Surveillance, Sovereignty, and Hard-Wired Censors

• There is a list of civil liberties organizations on my home page.

• A presentation including some definitions of privacy.
• TRUSTe
• P3P
• An excellent bibliography, and not enough people use pink backgrounds .

Privacy/Cryptography

Got to the Computer Science and Telecommunications Board, and download the executive summary Nov 96 report Cryptography's Role in Securing the Information Society

Crypto Assignment

What is a wiretap, a short description

What's in a (Domian) Name?

Information ownership extends from the content through the enabling software and to the domain names. One of the major controversies in domain names is the construction of ICANN.None of you can become at-large members because the registration is closed.

Read the background on domain names (don't print -- its is part of a larger file) if needed.

Reading:

• Mailman & Gigante:"Domain-ia: The Growing Tension Between the DNS and Trademark Law": describes DNS, Domain names, trademark law and the conflicts
• Technologies of Freedom: Ch 9
• Micheal Froomkin's discussion of power concentration l at a global scale in The Empire Strikes Back and in particular how ICANN is a part of this trend in Of Governance and Governments
• Read as much about ICANN as necessary to understand Froomkin's articles

Domain Name Assignment

Related Links and Additional reading:

• Also look at Berkman Center (look for ICANN-related work) and the Construction of a Virtual Government
• Transcript of Dialogue Between Jonathan Zittrain and Dave Clark Oct. 7, 1997.
• Berkman Center (look for ICANN-related work) and the Construction of a Virtual Government
• Network Solutions
• Internet Domain Names
• more links can be found at the IIP Bibliography
• ICANN watch watches and discusses ICANN

Digital Divide

Reading:

December 1999 issue of imp on Access: Where, Who, How, Why?. All the articles. (They are short and lite.)

Divide Assignment

Related Links: