EDUCAUSE has issued a call to action about a Higher Education Reauthorization Act amendment:
Here’s an excerpt from the call:
I am writing to ask your help in a matter of urgency to higher education in general and the IT community in particular: U.S. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) intends to offer a very harmful amendment, involving illegal file sharing, to the Higher Education Reauthorization Act when the Senate turns to this issue on July 22-23. The amendment can be found at <http://tinyurl.com/2x45d2>. The amendment:
* Makes the Secretary of Education an agent of the entertainment industry;
* Requires the Secretary to take action using data given to her by the entertainment industry that is terribly inaccurate;
* Requires targeted colleges and universities to plan for implementing a "technical solution" to illegal file sharing that does not yet exist for many campus environments;
* Is aimed only at colleges and universities, and NOT other Internet service providers; . . . .
It is important that your institution (CEO, government relations official, and yourself) CALL today, not write, your state’s U.S. senators’ staff members for higher education issues and tell them how much higher education opposes this amendment. Please also call Senator Reid’s office (202-224-3542), Senator Edward Kennedy’s office (202-224-4543), and Senator Michael Enzi’s office (202-224-3424). Thank you for your help.