Category: Legislation and Government Regulation

"Congress Funds $5 Million Open Textbook Grant Program in 2018 Spending Bil"

SPARC has released "Congress Funds $5 Million Open Textbook Grant Program in 2018 Spending Bil."

Here's an excerpt:

In a landmark victory for the Open Education movement, the U.S. Congress has included funding for a $5 million open textbook grant program in the Fiscal Year 2018 omnibus appropriations bill unveiled today. This marks the first major investment by Congress explicitly in open educational resources (OER) as a solution to the high cost of college textbooks, and underscores that course materials are a significant factor in making higher education affordable. The FY18 omnibus is expected to proceed swiftly to votes in the House and Senate and get signed into law this week.

Research Data Curation Bibliography, Version 8 | Digital Curation and Digital Preservation Works | Open Access Works | Digital Scholarship | Digital Scholarship Sitemap

"Blind Users Celebrate as Marrakesh Treaty Implementation Bill Drops"

Jeremy Malcolm has published "Blind Users Celebrate as Marrakesh Treaty Implementation Bill Drops" in Deeplinks.

Here's an excerpt:

Today the Marrakesh Treaty Implementation Bill was introduced into Congress by Senators Chuck Grassley (R-IA), Bob Corker (R-TN), Dianne Feinstein (D-CA), Bob Menendez (D-NJ), Kamala Harris (D-CA), Orrin Hatch (R-UT), and Patrick Leahy (D-VT). The bill implements the Marrakesh Treaty to Facilitate Access to Published Works for Persons Who Are Blind, Visually Impaired or Otherwise Print Disabled, a landmark treaty that was adopted by the World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO) in June 2013, and has since been ratified by 37 other countries. The treaty is notable in that it is the first WIPO treaty passed primarily for a disadvantaged class of users, rather than for the benefit of copyright holders.

Research Data Curation Bibliography, Version 8 | Digital Curation and Digital Preservation Works | Open Access Works | Digital Scholarship | Digital Scholarship Sitemap

"Cicilline Introduces Journalism Competition and Preservation Act"

U.S. Congressman David N. Cicilline has released "Cicilline Introduces Journalism Competition and Preservation Act."

Here's an excerpt:

U.S. Congressman David N. Cicilline (RI-01), the top Democrat on the House Judiciary Antitrust Subcommittee introduced the Journalism Competition and Preservation Act today to incorporate a limited safe harbor into current antitrust laws. The safe harbor established under the bill gives news publishers the ability to collectively negotiate with big tech platforms, including Facebook and Google, on factors that impact public access to trusted sources of news, such as the quality, accuracy, and attribution of news sources. . . .

The bill provides a 48-month window for newspaper companies to negotiate fair terms that would flow subscription and advertising dollars back to publishers, while protecting and preserving Americans’ right to access quality news. Parameters included in the bill ensure that these negotiations would strictly benefit Americans and news publishers at-large; not just one or a few publishers.

Research Data Curation Bibliography, Version 8 | Digital Curation and Digital Preservation Works | Open Access Works | Digital Scholarship | Digital Scholarship Sitemap

"Washington Becomes First State to Pass Net Neutrality Protections into Law"

Washington Govener Jay Inslee has released "Washington Becomes First State to Pass Net Neutrality Protections into Law."

Here's an excerpt:

In 2015, the FCC created rules against blocking legal content, throttling traffic and using paid prioritization for some traffic. The FCC reversed these net neutrality rules earlier this year.

Washington's new law, House Bill 2282, protects those net neutrality rules at the state level, ensuring that internet providers cannot advantageously manipulate internet speeds and access to content.

Research Data Curation Bibliography, Version 8 | Digital Curation and Digital Preservation Works | Open Access Works | Digital Scholarship | Digital Scholarship Sitemap

"Debunking Chairman Pai’s Claims about Net Neutrality"

FCC Commissioner Mignon Clyburn has released "Debunking Chairman Pai's Claims about Net Neutrality."

Here's an excerpt:

As an unwavering champion of net neutrality, FCC Commissioner Mignon Clyburn believes in setting the record straight. Chairman Pai made a number of claims and predictions in his dissent from the FCC’s 2015 Open Internet Order.

Just how good were the Chairman's predictions?

Research Data Curation Bibliography, Version 8 | Digital Curation and Digital Preservation Works | Open Access Works | Digital Scholarship | Digital Scholarship Sitemap

"FCC’s Next Step on Net Neutrality: Blocking the States"

Margaret Harding McGill has published "FCC's Next Step on Net Neutrality: Blocking the States" in Politico.

The article states that Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai's "Proposal to Restore Internet Freedom" order would pre-empt "state and local regulations attempting to regulate broadband in ways that run counter to the federal rules."

Six Ways to Contact Congress and the FCC to Support Net Neutrality

Matt Petronzio has published "Net Neutrality's in Trouble. Here's How to Fight for a Free and Fair Internet" in Mashable.

The article describes and provides links to six sites that you can use to easily contact Congress and the FCC to support net neutrality, including the Battle for the Net, 5 Calls, the Free Press Action Fund, the Electronic Frontier Foundation, CREDO Action, and the ACLU.

Widespread Reports That the FCC Chairman Plans to Kill Net Neutrality

There are a number of reports that Ajit Pai, the Chairman of the FCC, plans to repeal net neutrality rules in December. See the below articles for details.

Research Data Curation Bibliography, Version 8 | Digital Curation and Digital Preservation Works | Open Access Works | Digital Scholarship | Digital Scholarship Sitemap

An Empirical Investigation of the Impacts of Net Neutrality

The Internet Association has released An Empirical Investigation of the Impacts of Net Neutrality.

Here's an excerpt:

The empirical evidence shows that the implementation of NN rules has had none of the negative impacts theorized by its critics a decade ago. Far from a great strain on infrastructure investment, network capacity, and innovative activity, NN rules have had no negative effect on the telecommunications sector in these areas. The sector has thrived while edge services have opened an entirely new economy bringing millions of new jobs and hundreds of thousands of new businesses to our economy. Net neutrality has been crucial for that development.

Digital Curation and Digital Preservation Works | Open Access Works | Digital Scholarship | Digital Scholarship Sitemap

An Analysis of Open Data and Open Science Policies in Europe, May 2017

SPARC Europe has released An Analysis of Open Data and Open Science Policies in Europe, May 2017 .

Here's an excerpt from the announcement:

Among the report’s most striking findings: 11 of the 28 European Union member states, as well as Norway and Switzerland, have national, research data-related policies in place. Of these, all were implemented in the past eight years, with most having taken effect recently. In about half of the countries, research data is covered under the same policy that applies to Open Access or Open Science.

Digital Curation and Digital Preservation Works | Open Access Works | Digital Scholarship | Digital Scholarship Sitemap

"Administration’s FY 2018 Budget Request Includes $23 Million to Start Wind-Down of IMLS Operations"

IMLS has released "Administration's FY 2018 Budget Request Includes $23 Million to Start Wind-Down of IMLS Operations."

Here's an excerpt:

Today, President Donald J. Trump released his FY 2018 budget request to Congress, which includes $23 million for administrative expenses to begin conducting a closeout of operations of the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) starting in Fiscal Year 2018. IMLS is one of several independent agencies designated for elimination in the FY 2018 budget request. The budget request expands upon the initial Administration budget request released in March, proposing the elimination of IMLS. The request released today includes no funding for IMLS grant programs.

See also: "IMLS Frequently Asked Questions on the Fiscal Year (FY) 2018 President’s Budget Request."

Digital Curation and Digital Preservation Works | Open Access Works | Digital Scholarship | Digital Scholarship Sitemap

"National Library Groups Oppose Bill to Make Register of Copyrights a Presidential Appointee"

Kara Malenfant has published "National Library Groups Oppose Bill to Make Register of Copyrights a Presidential Appointee" in ACRL Insider.

Here's an excerpt:

It’s also difficult to understand how the public or Congress itself would benefit from politicization of the Register of Copyrights' position by making it subject to presidential appointment and Senate confirmation, as this legislation proposes. Such politicization of the position necessarily would result in a Register more actively engaged in policy development than in competent management and modernization.

Digital Curation and Digital Preservation Works | Open Access Works | Digital Scholarship | Digital Scholarship Sitemap

"New FCC Chairman Begins Attacks on Internet Privacy"

The EFF has released "New FCC Chairman Begins Attacks on Internet Privacy."

Here's an excerpt:

Newly minted Republican FCC Chairman Ajit Pai just granted the telecom industry its wish: he has blocked new requirements that Internet service providers (ISPs) like Comcast apply common sense security practices to protect your private data. . . .

Republicans in Congress are planning a much bigger assault on the Internet, by making it illegal for the FCC to protect consumer privacy online. With heavy support from the cable and telephone industry, they are hoping to use a rare and far reaching tool known as a Congressional Review Act resolution, which would not only completely eliminate all of the FCC's broadband privacy rules (not just the data security rule), it would prohibit the FCC from ever enacting any "substantially similar" privacy rules in the future. Because of the current regulatory landscape, the Federal Trade Commission is also barred from policing ISPs, leaving no federal cop on the beat to protect consumer privacy in this space.

Digital Curation and Digital Preservation Works | Open Access Works | Digital Scholarship | Digital Scholarship Sitemap

PLOS: Response to NIH RFI—Strategies for NIH Data Management, Sharing, and Citation

PLOS has released Response to NIH RFI—Strategies for NIH Data Management, Sharing, and Citation.

Here's an excerpt:

We write to express the views of the Public Library of Science, a fully Open Access Publisher of seven Research Journals, in response to your RFI on Data Sharing, Management, and Citation. Open access to Research Articles is just the first step in what we consider should be the end state for all publicly funded research, and we support broader efforts towards open science. We are developing our own policies to help establish a new norm in which upon publication of a journal article, if not before, all of the underlying data (where ethically appropriate) is openly available to access and reuse without restriction according to the FAIR principles for data management to make data Findable, Accessible, Interoperable and Re-usable.

Digital Curation and Digital Preservation Works | Open Access Works | Digital Scholarship | Digital Scholarship Sitemap

Senate Unanimously Passes OPEN Government Data Act

The US Senate has passed the OPEN Government Data Act.

Here's an excerpt from the announcement:

The U.S. Senate unanimously passed the Open, Public, Electronic and Necessary (OPEN) Government Data Act, legislation introduced by U.S. Senators Brian Schatz (D-Hawai'i) and Ben Sasse (R-Neb.). The bipartisan bill will require public data to be accessible at Data.gov so individuals, organizations, and other government offices can utilize it.

Digital Curation and Digital Preservation Works | Open Access Works | Digital Scholarship | Digital Scholarship Sitemap

"FTC Charges Academic Journal Publisher OMICS Group Deceived Researchers"

The Federal Trade Commission has released "FTC Charges Academic Journal Publisher OMICS Group Deceived Researchers."

Here's an excerpt:

The Federal Trade Commission has charged the publisher of hundreds of purported online academic journals with deceiving academics and researchers about the nature of its publications and hiding publication fees ranging from hundreds to thousands of dollars.

The FTC's complaint alleges that OMICS Group, Inc., along with two affiliated companies and their president and director, Srinubabu Gedela, claim that their journals follow rigorous peer-review practices and have editorial boards made up of prominent academics. In reality, many articles are published with little to no peer review and numerous individuals represented to be editors have not agreed to be affiliated with the journals.

According to the FTC's complaint, OMICS does not tell researchers that they must pay significant publishing fees until after it has accepted an article for publication, and often will not allow researchers to withdraw their articles from submission, thereby making the research ineligible for publication in another journal. Academic ethics standards generally forbid researchers from submitting the same research to more than one journal.

Digital Curation and Digital Preservation Works | Open Access Works | Digital Scholarship | Digital Scholarship Sitemap

An Analytical Review of Text and Data Mining Practices and Approaches in Europe

OpenForum Europe has released An Analytical Review of Text and Data Mining Practices and Approaches in Europe: Policy Recommendations in View of the Upcoming Copyright Legislative Proposal.

Here's an excerpt:

Europe needs a regime which enables any researcher, citizen, company or other entity to engage in TDM activities, using material to which they have lawful access, wherever they feel there is a good idea. The exact commercial rewards can be managed at subsequent stages, depending on the implementation of the mining outcome. The protection could be considered at the point at which some clearly commercially beneficial project, product, service, business or company has emerged.

Digital Curation and Digital Preservation Works | Open Access Works | Digital Scholarship | Digital Scholarship Sitemap