役立たずで、迷惑なインターネット規制法案警戒リスト

CDT(The Center for Democracy & Technology)が2006年11月22日に公開し、報告した、米国の第109議会で提出された役立たずで、迷惑なブッシュ政権が提出しているインターネット規制法案警戒リスト「Internet Watch List - Lame Duck Edition(インターネット警戒リスト--役立たず版)」の俗称。検討時間も少なく、潔白な米国人を盗聴する権威を大いに広げ、オンラインで行われる社会的に貴重なスピーチをやめさせて、アクセス価値があるソーシャル・ネットワークツールに制限することを請求する未決の法案が多く残っている。年末に向けて、これらを強引に第109議会の最後の日々に滑り抜け、通過させる可能性があることから、CDTは、これらの見当違いの法案のいずれも法にならないことを保証するために用心深く、警戒したままであるように議員、ジャーナリスト、および活動家に促している。詳細情報はURL(http://www.cdt.org/press/20061120press-lameduck.php)で知ることができる。「Internet Watch List - Lame Duck Edition」はURL(http://www.cdt.org/legislation/2006watchlameduck.php)にある。強行採決！さらには、わけの判らない政治家のエゴ法案！など、日本も米国も同じといえる。International Journalists Networkは2007年11月8日に、ユネスコ(UNESCO)がアフリカ10カ国におけるメディア法の研究に関する調査報告書「Media Legislation in Africa: A comparative legal survey」を発行したと報告した。このレポートは南アフリカのロードス大学スクール・オブ＿ジャーナリズ・ムアンド・メディア・スタディ(School of Journalism and Media Studies at Rhodes University in South Africa)のガイ・バーガー(Guy Berger)によってまとめられた。
この調査では、エチオピア(Ethiopia)、ガーナ(Ghana)、ケニア(Kenya)、マリ(Mali)、モザンビーク (Mozambique)、ナイジェリア(Nigeria)、セネガル(Senegal)、南アフリカ(South Africa)、タンザニア(Tanzania)、ザンビア(Zambia)のメディア法について解説し、それぞれの比較もされた180ページの貴重な文献になっている。詳細情報はURL(http://ijnet.org/Director.aspx?P=Article&ID=306881&LID=1)で知ることができる。

1) NSA Warrantless Wiretapping(NSAの正当な理由のない盗聴)
President Bush has made clear that one of his top legislative priorities for the lame duck session is passage of a bill to authorize the administration's warrantless surveillance programs. From a civil liberties standpoint, bills don't get much worse than those proposed by Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Arlen Specter (R-Pa.) and Rep. Heather Wilson (R-N.M.) to rewrite the law that protects ordinary Americans from government snooping. Couched in the seemingly laudable terms of ''modernization,'' the bills would radically undermine the privacy of innocent Americans -- not just by legitimizing the administration's warrantless surveillance programs -- but by granting this and future administrations even broader authority to spy on Americans in the United States without judicial review. Cutting the intelligence agencies loose from any checks and balances in this way can actually harm national security, since unfocused fishing expeditions are likely to produce more false leads than valuable intelligence. Congress should wait until next year to take up this issue with the newly elected Members of Congress.

* CDT Summary of Specter and Wilson FISA Bills
* Policy Post: FISA ''Modernization'' is Dangerous and Premature
* CDT Testimony Against Dangerous ''Update'' of Surveillance Law
2) Mandatory Labeling(義務的ラベリング)
Section 533(b) of the Commerce-State-Justice Appropriations bill (H.R. 5672) would require Web site operators to label a wide range of lawful, socially valuable content as ''sexually explicit.'' Failing to comply with the mandatory labeling provision would be a criminal offense that could land legitimate Web publishers in jail. This may be the most imminently dangerous Internet-related measure before congress in the lame duck, because it is already attached to a spending bill. The proposal has never received consideration in any hearing or markup in the Senate or the House. CDT supports voluntary efforts to label content and has long endorsed the voluntary use of parental control tools to protect kids online. A mandatory federal statute, however, would do nothing to protect children and would violate the First Amendment of the Constitution.

* CDT Letter to Senate Commerce Committee
* CDT Letter to Senate Appropriations Committee
3) Immunity for Telecom Companies for Cooperation After 9/11(9/11テロ後の協力に向けたテレコム会社の免疫)
Even if the NSA warrantless wiretapping bills don't make it to the floor, there are indications that lawmakers could try to pass a provision (probably by slipping it into a spending bill) that would give telecom companies immunity from liability for any unlawful assistance they have given the government since 9/11. This last-minute giveaway to the telecom companies could trigger the dismissal of the lawsuits currently pending against the telecom companies for their alleged illegal cooperation with the administration's domestic surveillance programs.

4) Data Retention(データ保有)
The Department of Justice wants to force Internet service providers to retain massive amounts of data regarding their customers' Internet usage -- ostensibly in order to bolster the ability of law enforcement to investigate child exploitation and national security cases. No bills have been introduced yet, but Congresswoman Diana DeGette (D-CO), who introduced and then withdrew a proposal earlier this year, remains interested in introducing another proposal during the lame duck session. Forcing ISPs to retain information for millions of customers raises significant privacy concerns, greatly increases the likelihood of data breach and identity theft, and imposes significant costs on ISPs that would be passed on to customers. The government already has significant power to require more targeted ''data preservation'' in any kind of case. Strengthening that authority poses far fewer risks than requiring the mass warehousing of customer data by ISPs.

* CDT Memo: Data Retention
* CDT Report: Digital Search & Seizure

5) Audio Flag(オーディオ規制)

While telecom legislation containing ''audio flag'' provisions appears to have stalled, it remains possible that some version of the idea could get tacked on to an appropriations bill or some other vehicle. In particular, retiring Majority Leader Bill Frist could be inclined to push for the audio flag's inclusion, since the recording industry has a major presence in Frist's home state of Tennessee and this will be his last chance be helpful on the issue. Unlike broadcast flag legislation, the target here is not large-scale piracy. Rather, the recording industry's goal is to restrict certain types of private, personal copying, even if the content is never shared with anyone else and never touches the Internet. The industry may have a point that technological changes warrant a careful look at existing arrangements concerning music licensing statutes and fees, but Congress should not hurriedly grant the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) broad new jurisdiction to regulate technology and to curtail Americans' established ability lawfully to make personal, non-commercial recordings off the radio.

6) Blocking Kids from Social Networks, Blogs and Chat(ソーシャル・ネットワーク、ブログ、およびチャットから子供を妨ぐ)
The Deleting Online Predators Act of 2006 (DOPA, H.R. 5319), which sailed through the House of Representatives earlier this year, is still pending in the Senate. The legislation would force the schools and libraries that receive federal ''e-rate'' funding to block virtually all interactivity on their Internet-enabled computers. Chat rooms and social networking sites on the Internet -- including many blogging services -- would be off limits to the young people who rely on schools and libraries for their Internet access. The bill covers forms of free expression that are not only completely legal, but in many cases appropriate and even valuable for minors. In addition to violating the constitutional rights of both speakers and listeners, DOPA would also exacerbate the serious ''digital divide'' between children whose parents can afford personal computers and children who must use the Internet through their school or library. Librarians and school administrators are already dealing with the implications of the intersection of children and the Internet, and Congress should not interfere with those local efforts. Education is by far the most effective approach to address concerns raised by minors' use of social networking and chat on the Internet.

* CDT Analysis: Deleting Online Predators Act

7) Broadcast Flag(放送規制)
Broadcast flag legislation, like the audio flag, is included in the stalled telecom package but conceivably could be attached to another legislative vehicle. Owners of video content argue that broadcast flag legislation is needed to protect against piracy of programs broadcast on television. While CDT strongly opposes piracy, there are serious questions about the likely effectiveness of a broadcast flag regime and its potential impact on technology innovation and the public's ability to make lawful uses of video content. A flag regime would give the FCC unprecedented authority to regulate entry of new consumer technologies into the marketplace. Also, a flag regime could prevent, among other things, ''fair use'' of clips from broadcast news or political debates. If Congress wishes to proceed with flag legislation, it should at a minimum include carefully crafted limits and safeguards, rather than giving the FCC blank-check authority. (The version of the legislation included in the telecom bill featured some, but not all, of the safeguards that CDT believes are essential.)

* Policy Post: CDT Highlights Broadcast Flag Issues in Advance of Possible Legislative Push
* CDT Testimony Urging Caution on Broadcast Flag
* CDT Report: Broadcast Flag Public Interest Primer

As a tool to promote user-awareness, CDT provides you with this up-to-date guide to pending federal legislation affecting the Internet. As Congress attempts to regulate the digital age, this resource will allow you to keep track of the progress of Internet bills, from introduction to enactment. Our guide will also alert you about bills that are ''moving'' in the House or Senate.