UK: Watch Out For The Return Of ITAR

EhWhat writes: "Looks like the mistakes of ITAR are about to be repeated, not just for cryptography but for all academic research in the UK. The Times are reporting on a new bill to require all researchers and their work to be vetted."

Comments

this is getting crazy

[steve.m]

I doubt this will become law, because lots of information which may be useful to naughty terrorists is available in bookshops and libraries.

unless they are also planning on removing all the chemistry books from all the university libraries, this is largely going to solve nothing.

Re:this is getting crazy

[Vuarnet]

unless they are also planning on removing all the chemistry books from all the university libraries, this is largely going to solve nothing.
That would be phase two of their plan. But let's not get ahead of ourselves just yet. They're just doing it to take care of the proles.. er, the People, I mean.

forcing researchers abroad

[leastsquares]

NEW laws designed to keep sensitive scientific information out of the hands of terrorists will entangle universities in red tape and force researchers abroad, leading scientists and academics said yesterday.

The funding levels have already done that.

There is probably a job available in the US for every scientist in the UK that wants one (within a 2 mile radius I know of at least 6 jobs available in my field and there are only a hundred or so people working in that field in the entire UK). I get paid 50% more here than I would in the UK... and the cost of living is lower.

Re: forcing researchers abroad

[chongo]

Not every UK scientist would want to move to the US to find a job. Those involved in areas that are currently restricted in the US (new stem cell line work, certain types cloning) would find the entaglement in the US even worse.