Overview
The ACM’s US Technology Policy Committee (USTPC) has been very active in July already! The contributions and visibility of USTPC as a group and as individual members are very welcome and impressive. The following list has links to highly-recommended reading.
Amicus Brief: USTPC Urges Narrower Definition of Computer Fraud and Abuse Act
ACM’s USTPC filed an amicus curiae (“friend of the court”) brief with the United States Supreme Court in the landmark case of Van Buren v. United States. “Van Buren marks the first time that the US Supreme Court has reviewed the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (CFAA), a 1986 law that was originally intended to punish hacking. In recent years, however, the CFAA has been used to criminally prosecute both those who access a computer system without permission, as well as those who have permission but exceed their authority to use a database once logged in.”
USTPC Statement on Face Recognition
(USTPC) has assessed the present state of facial recognition (FR) technology as applied by government and the private sector. The Committee concludes that, “when rigorously evaluated, the technology too often produces results demonstrating clear bias based on ethnic, racial, gender, and other human characteristics recognizable by computer systems. The consequences of such bias, USTPC notes, frequently can and do extend well beyond inconvenience to profound injury, particularly to the lives, livelihoods and fundamental rights of individuals in specific demographic groups, including some of the most vulnerable populations in our society.”
See the NBC news article.
Barbara Simons recipient of the 2019 ACM Policy Award
USTPC’s Barbara Simons, founder of USTPC predecessor USACM, is the recipient of the 2019 ACM Policy Award for “long-standing, high-impact leadership as ACM President and founding Chair of ACM’s US Public Policy Committee (USACM), while making influential contributions to improve the reliability of and public confidence in election technology. Over several decades, Simons has advanced technology policy by founding and leading organizations, authoring influential publications, and effecting change through lobbying and public education.”
Congratulations, Barbara!
Potential New Issues
ACM Urges Preservation of Temporary Visa Exemptions for Nonimmigrant Students. Harvard filing is a complaint for declaratory and injunctive relief.
This issue may have dramatic impacts on university research and teaching this fall.
Thank you USTPC for your hard work and representation of ACM to policymakers!