EFFector Online Volume org Publicati

=========================================================================

  ________________             _______________          _______________

 /_______________/\           /_______________\        /\______________\

 \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ \          |||||||||||||||||       / ////////////////  

  \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\/          |||||||||||||||||      / ////////////////

   \\\\\\_______/\            ||||||_______\        / //////_____\  

    \\\\\\\\\\\\\ \           ||||||||||||||       / /////////////

     \\\\\\\\\\\\\/____       ||||||||||||||      / ///////////// 

      \\\\\___________/\      |||||              / ////   

       \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ \     |||||             / ////  

        \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\/     |||||             \////

=========================================================================

EFFector Online Volume 6 No. 5         11/15/1993         editors@eff.org

A Publication of the Electronic Frontier Foundation        ISSN 1062-9424

New EFF Open Platform Statement Available Online

EFF Welcomes Mary Beth Arnett, Staff Counsel

Statistics Needed for Analysis of Lost Crypto Sales

Retrieving the National Information Infrastructure Documents

NSF Digital Library Open Meeting - Dec. 6

--==--==--==-<>-==--==--==--

Subject: New EFF Open Platform Statement Available Online

The recent spate of telecommunications mergers -- Bell Atlantic/TCI, US

West/Time-Warner, AT&T/McCaw, plus numerous others in the works -- raise

the stakes for information policy makers and those of us who are concerned

about the development of an open, accessible information infrastructure.  

EFF has just released a major new statement on our Open Platform Campaign,

to encourage Congress and the Administration to do the right thing and set 

out a new, positive communications policy that is ready for the information

age.  We believe that this policy must achieve the following goals:

*       Diversity of Information Sources:  Promote a fully interactive

        infrastructure in which the First Amendment flourishes,

        allowing the greatest possible diversity of view points;

*       Universal Service:  Ensure a minimum level of affordable

        information and communication service for all Americans;

*       Free Speech and Common Carriage:  Guarantee infrastructure

        access regardless of the content of the message that the

        user is sending;

*       Privacy:  Protect the security and privacy of all

        communications carried over the infrastructure, and

        safeguard the Fourth and Fifth Amendment rights of all

        who use the information infrastructure;

*       Development of Public Interest Applications and Services:

        Ensure that public interest applications and services

        which are not produced by the commercial market are

        widely available and affordable.

Our policy proposal, available by anonymous ftp on ftp.eff.org in

/pub/Eff/papers/op2.0, contains a discussion of these principles and

concrete legislative recommendations on how to accomplish many of these

flavor of our positions, but we hope you'll read the whole thing.

Regulatory changes should be made, and mergers approved or barred

based on specific, enforceable commitments that the electronic

technology.  That potential arises from the extraordinary spaciousness of

the broadband information highway, contrasted with the scarcity of

broadcast spectrum and the limited number of cable channels that defined

the mass media era.  Properly constructed and administered, the information

channels controlled by the network operator, but also for a common carriage

connection that is open to all who wish to speak, publish, and communicate

on the digital information highway.  For the first time, electronic media

can have the diversity of information we associate only with the print

media.

But we can't rely on the promises of industry or the wonders of the

competitive marketplace alone to create this infrastructure.  We need

legislative benchmarks to ensure that all citizens have access to advanced

nformation infrastructure.  We will achieve this goal not by having

consumers.

We've expanded the concept of "Open Platform Services" from just narrowband

carriage basis, by any provider.

To achieve the full potential of new digital media, we need to make

available what we call Open Platform services, which reach all American

library (or libraries all around the world) to do their homework.  It will

make it possible for a parent who makes a video of the local elementary

community.  Open Platform will make it as easy to be an information

Open Platform services provide basic information access connections, just

as today's telephone line enables you to connect to an information service

or the coaxial cable running into your home connects you to cable

television programming.   This is not a replacement for current online

transport capacity that one needs to access the multimedia version of these

nformation services.

Specifically, Open Platform service must meet the following criteria:

*       widely available, switched digital connections;

*       affordable prices;

*       open access to all without discrimination as the content

        of the message;

*       sufficient "up-stream" capacity to enable users to

        originate, as well as receive, good quality video,

        multimedia services.

Open Platform service itself will be provided by a variety of providers

over interconnected networks, using a variety of wires, fiber optics, coax

cable, and wireless transmission services.  But however it is provided, if

t is affordable and widely available, it will be the on-ramp for the

nation's growing information superhighway.

Rather than a narrow focus on stopping or delaying the proposed mergers,

Communications Act that serves the public interest.

The Administration and Congress can create and prompt the deployment of

open platforms by using the political leverage at its disposal.  Bell

Atlantic, TCI, Time Warner, US West and others involved in recent mergers

are all promising to build open platforms.  Telecommunications giants are

asking policymakers for permission to enter new markets or to form new,

merged entities.  Rather than per se opposition to current mergers, or mere

other accommodations conditional on providing affordable open platform

new Communications Act, revised for the information age.  With a real

"social contract" in hand, we just might realize the Jeffersonian potential

of the data superhighways.

Together with a coalition of public interest groups and private industry,

the Electronic Frontier Foundation is working to establish Open

of House telecommunications legislation, soon to be introduced.  We are

also working with the Administration to have Open Platform policies

ncluded in the recommendations of the Information Infrastructure Task

Force.  In addition to federal policy, critical decisions about the shape

of the information infrastructure will be made at state and local levels. 

Since 1991, EFF has been working with a number state legislatures and

a local level.  As cable and telephone infrastructures converge, we will

also work with local cable television franchising authorities.  We invite

all who are concerned about these issues to join with us in these public

We hope that everyone will have a look at our new proposal, and join in to

FOR MORE INFORMATION ABOUT THE OPEN PLATFORM CAMPAIGN CONTACT:

Daniel J. Weitzner, Senior Staff Counsel, 

EFF DOCUMENTS ON THE SUBJECT (in ftp.eff.org):

Open Platform Campaign: Public Policy for the Information Age

/pub/eff/papers/op2.0 

/pub/eff/papers/op2.0.ps.z 

/pub/eff/papers/op2.0.readme -> .../announce.op2 

Senate Telecommunications Infrastructure Act of 1993 (S. 1086)

/pub/eff/legislation/infra-act-s1086

/pub/eff/legislation/infra-act-s1086-summary

EFF Testimony on Senate Infrastructure Bill

/pub/eff/legislation/kapor-on-s1086

This material is also available via WAIS and gopher from wais.eff.org and

net tools, feel free contact us for assistance.

--==--==--==-<>-==--==--==--

Subject: EFF Welcomes Mary Beth Arnett, Staff Counsel

Mary Beth Arnett has joined EFF as Staff Counsel for the Public Policy

team.  Mary Beth has published an extensive analysis of two federal

nformation disclosure programs involving community and workplace

licensing and regulatory board.  Mary Beth's objective in electronic

nformation analysis is to devise policies consistent with the Jeffersonian

deal of empowering citizens through information provision.

--==--==--==-<>-==--==--==--

Subject: Please Help Us Get EFF's BBS Up and Running!

The Electronic Frontier Foundation is working to start an EFF bulletin

board system to reach the "other half of cyberspace" -- BBSs, including the

tens of thousands of participants in BBS networks such as FidoNet.  EFF

considers these hobbyist grassroots pioneers as important to the future of

communications as experienced net.surfers, and both cultures of the

online world have much to gain or lose by the issues at stake.  

The EFF BBS will provide a full mirror of our FTP/gopher/WAIS archives, as

conferences, such as BBSLAW, SYSLAW, comp.org.eff.talk, alt.security.pgp,

alt.politics.datahighway, and more.  The board will serve as a place for

those with modems but no Internet access to get the information they need

to avoid pitfalls and to support campaigns to preserve our rights online.

However, money does not grow on trees, and EFF is asking for contributions

of hardware donations so that the project can get rolling.  Our wish list:

Basic system components - 486DX2-66 motherboard, 512k cache, preferably

       EISA-VESA; tower case w/300+ watt PS; both floppies; AT keyboard

SCSI-2 HD controller card with at least 1MB cache, especially EISA or VESA

SVGA card, 1024x768, 1MB+

SVGA monitor .28mm, 1024x768, 14"+, colour

Fast ethernet card, especially EISA or VESA

SCSI or parallel tape backup

  undecided yet, probably Telebit V.terbo)

For non-critical components (i.e., anything but MB/CPU, HD and modems),

BBS software has already been donated, though various other software is

All donors will receive a note of thanks in EFFector and on the BBS in a

--==--==--==-<>-==--==--==--

Subject: Statistics Needed for Analysis of Lost Crypto Sales

The Software Publishers Association (SPA) has been working to bring

about the liberalization of export controls on mass market software

foreign availability of cryptographic products has clearly

that is stronger than what U. S. firms have been able to export.

However, NSA claims that software companies have not demonstrated

controls.  Congress has told us that without better economic harm

Therefore, WE NEED YOUR HELP.

able to export your encryption product, please let us know.  Be as

nformation that will be most compelling.

these matters or might also be able to respond.

Software Publishers Association

Washington DC 20036

(202) 452-1600 ext. 318

or to

Douglas Miller

(same address)

(202) 452-1600 ext. 342

When sending this information to SPA, please also send a copy to the

Electronic Frontier Foundation, as both SPA and EFF are working on this

ssue, and both organizations aim to reduce the ITAR restrictions on

cryptographic technology.  You can send your information to eff@eff.org.

--==--==--==-<>-==--==--==--

Subject: Retrieving the National Information Infrastructure Documents

WHAT IS AVAILABLE -- AND HOW?

electronically, in print and in CD-ROM.  Please note that some information 

varies at each site and can include daily updates from the White House, 

As additional documents and retrieval sources become available, we

TABLE OF CONTENTS

          I. Retrieving an electronic version -- at no charge

                A. Retrieval via electronic bulletin board

                B. Retrieval via electronic mail 

                C. Retrieval via gopher and telnet

                D. Retrieval via anonymous-ftp

A - VIA ELECTRONIC BULLETIN BOARDS 

        Set software parameters for:    N-8-1

        Dial:           (9600 baud)     703-321-8020    

B -  VIA ELECTRONIC MAIL

Depending on the information you are looking for, using the commands  

below, you will receive the information you request. 

        TO RETRIEVE:                            TYPE:

        Agenda for Action                       send niiagenda

        Technology for Economic

          Growth Catalog                        send nii-tech catalog

C -  VIA GOPHER AND/OR TELNET

        To get to this gopher, type:

                gopher ace.esusda.gov

        From the Main Menu, choose: 

        5. Americans Communicating Electronically/... 

            3.  National Information Infrastructure documents

        To get to this gopher, type:

                gopher sunsite.unc.edu

        Sunsite Archives

          12. National Information Infrastructure Information/ 

               4.  Technology Initiative Summary/

                 Telnet to:   gopher.nist.gov

                 login as "gopher".  Choose the menu item "DOC

                 Documents". Choose "niiagenda.asc".

D -  VIA ANONYMOUS-FTP

         anonymous FTP and Gopher.  The name of the file is

         "niiagenda.asc".  Access information and directories are

         described below.

         FTP:

                 Address:  ftp.ntia.doc.gov

                 Login as "anonymous".  Use your email address or guest

                 as the password.  Change directory to "pub".

                 Address:  enh.nist.gov

                 Login as "anonymous" using "guest" as the password.

                 Address:  isdres.er.usgs.gov

                 Login as "anonymous". Use your email address or "guest"

                 as the password. Change directory to npr.

                 The package also may be present in a self extracting

                 compressed file named "niiagend.exe".  Remember to

                 issue the binary command before "getting" the

                 compressed file.

E -- BULLETIN BOARD ACCESS

         Bulletin Boards  The package is available for downloading on

         the following bulletin boards:

         Name:            NTIA Bulletin Board

         Phone:           (202) 482-1199

         Communications parameters should be set to either 2400 or

         9600 baud, no parity, 8 data bits and 1 stop bit.  The

         package is available under the "press releases" menu item as

         "niiagend.asc" (ascii) and "niiagend.exe" (compressed-self

         extracting).

         Name:            Department of Commerce Economic Bulletin Board

         Phone:           202-482-1986 (voice instructions for subscription

                          information)

         This is a "fee for service" bulletin board.  Subscribers may

         download the "niiagenda" document for normal on-line

         charges.  Non-subscribers may subscribe for $35 and download

         the report for no additional charge.  Free telnet access and

         download services are available through the Internet by

         using the address: ebb.stat-usa.gov.  Use trial as your user

         id.

         Name:            FedWorld On-line Information Network

         Phone:           (703) 321-8020

         Communications parameters should be set to either 2400 or

         9600 baud, no parity, 8 data bits and 1 stop bit.  To access

         "niiagend.asc" from the FedWorld menu, enter "
         house".  Telnet access is available through the Internet

         using the address: fedworld.doc.gov.  Further information

         about FedWorld can be obtained by calling (voice) 703-487-

         4648.



What Else is Available?


We currently have information on the National Initatives

available for access in various ways. To find out more on what

s available, Send a message to the following addresses.

NAFTA                                   nafta@ace.esusda.gov

Health Security Act                     health@ace.esusda.gov

National Performance Review             npr@ace.esusda.gov

National Information Infrastructure     nii@ace.esusda.gov


Each one of these has information on how to access the documents

for your areas of interest.


The most up-to-date version of this document can be obtained by sending

mail to: 


                 nii@ace.esusda.gov.


Do not place any text in the body of the message.



--==--==--==-<>-==--==--==--



Subject: NSF Digital Library Open Meeting - Dec. 6


The National Science Foundation (NSF) will hold a Briefing Meeting

concerning the NSF/ARPA/NASA "Research on Digital Libraries" Initiative

(Announcement NSF-93-141). This meeting will take place on December 6,

Sciences, 2100 C Street N.W., Washington, DC.  This meeting will be open to

all parties interested in responding to this Initiative. For further

nformation, please contact Gwendolyn Barber. By telephone: (202) 357-9572.
By email: gbarber@nsf.gov.  NSF-93-141 is available via US Mail or email,

believe it or not, but due to a move to a new office, there may be a delay in



--==--==--==-<>-==--==--==--



EFFector Online is published biweekly by:


     Electronic Frontier Foundation

     1001 G Street, N.W., Suite 950 East

     Washington, DC 20001, USA

     Phone: +1 202 347 5400,  FAX: +1 202 393 5509

     Internet Address:  eff@eff.org or ask@eff.org


     Coordination, production and shipping by:

     Stanton McCandlish, Online Activist 


Reproduction of this publication in electronic media is encouraged.  Signed

articles do not necessarily represent the view of the EFF.  To reproduce


*This newsletter is printed on 100% recycled electrons.*


--==--==--==-<>-==--==--==--


MEMBERSHIP IN THE ELECTRONIC FRONTIER FOUNDATION


activities into other realms of the electronic frontier, we need the

financial support of individuals and organizations.


becoming a member now. Members receive our bi-weekly electronic

newsletter, EFFector Online (if you have an electronic address reached

through the Net), and special releases and other notices on our

activities. But because we believe that support should be freely given, you

can receive these things even if you do not elect to become a member.


Your membership/donation is fully tax deductible.

Our memberships are $20.00 per year for students and $40.00 per year for


--==--==--==-<>-==--==--==--


Mail to:

         Membership Coordinator

         Electronic Frontier Foundation

         1001 G Street, N.W.

         Suite 950 East

         Washington, DC  20001  USA


Membership rates:

            $20.00 (student or low income membership)

            $40.00 (regular membership)



[   ]  I wish to become a member of the EFF.  I enclose: $_______

[   ]  I wish to renew my membership in the EFF.  I enclose: $_______

[   ]  I enclose an additional donation of $_______


Name:


Organization:


Address:


City or Town:


State:            Zip:           Phone: (      )                  (optional)


FAX: (      )                   (optional)


E-mail address:


to my Mastercard [  ]  Visa [  ]  American Express [  ]


Number:


Expiration date:


Signature: ______________________________________________


Date:


Optional:

other nonprofit groups from time to time as it deems

appropriate.                       Initials:______________________