Capitol Hill Quiet On Tech

An anonymous reader writes "This year's Democratic-controlled Congress largely ignored technological issues in favor of social problems, CNet notes in another 2007 retrospective. Issues important to the tech industry (such as net neutrality) received short shrift, while the political body spent a considerable amount of time decrying the evils of the Internet. 'Hot topics this time around included foreign cybersecurity threats to U.S. government systems, terrorist cells flourishing on the Web, inadvertent file sharing through peer-to-peer networks, and sexual predators ensnaring unsuspecting youth through online social sites. And for a third time, the House passed not just one, but two, different bills aimed at deterring spyware.'"

Comments

Tech issues don't get votes.

[iknownuttin]

As usual, Congress did a lot of spouting off about how to manage perceived Internet perils. Hot topics this time around included foreign cybersecurity threats to U.S. government systems, terrorist cells flourishing on the Web, inadvertent file sharing through peer-to-peer networks, and sexual predators ensnaring unsuspecting youth through online social sites. And for a third time, the House passed not just one, but two, different bills aimed at deterring spyware.

Because, that's what your typical voter is concerned about because that's what they understand and what's been hyped in the media. Of course Congress is going to spout off about those things. They want to get elected. The other topics are topics that only the tech folks are really concerned about and there's not enough of them to pander to to get elected. Joe "Tech Ignorant, Keep my job and Family values" Schmoe is were to get the votes.

Re:Tech issues don't get votes.

[westlake]

We should really put a term limit on every office. That way no one stays in control for too long.

Nonsense.

The lobbyist, the bureaucrat, and committee staff become all the more powerful.

Because they are ones who have the experience, knowledge, and resources to frame legislation that cannot wait until your first-term Congressman gets up to speed.

It's best that they ignore the tech issues

[iminplaya]

Especially when you consider how badly they're dealing with the social ones. Keep them away from tech until we are willing to vote for more freedom minded legislators. Gridlock is good. It slows the creation of bad, authoritarian laws.

That's a good thing

[bbdb]

It's a feature of democracy, not a bug.

Govt can't fix and provide simple systems, say, levees, roads, can't get itself to undertake rather simple means necessary to fix the school system. How could it fix a lot more intricate, complicated and advanced realm like technology then?

And beware of the negative side effects, like with "net neutrality" that is a bad idea whose time has come and, fortunately for us all, gone.

Suppose govt signs obsolete & proprietary tech into law (need I point at some document standards?). That would stifle innovation instead of invigorating it.

No, tech is better off without govt meddling. It's only basic research that it can't screw up because physics laws fortunately can't be screwed up by govt incompetence, at worst it can waste money or underfund important science like ITER.