THE free exchange of information between scientists will be under threat if a
law now going through the British Parliament is passed in its present form.
The Export Control Bill aims to curb the spread of knowledge on weapons
technology. It will do this by 鈥減rohibition or regulation鈥� of the transfer of
information on these subjects. This could cover e-mails, faxes, phone calls,
software, and even conversations, course materials and presentation slides.
Backed by the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), the bill provides for
jail sentences of up to 10 years for people who send unauthorised e-mails on
what are deemed militarily sensitive subjects鈥攐r who teach overseas
students such subjects without ministerial say-so.
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Peer-reviewed publishing of research would also be threatened. The government
wants to vet what it regards as sensitive scientific papers before publication,
effectively allowing ministers to censor academic research.
Such powers would be 鈥渆xtremely disturbing鈥� says Nobel laureate Harry Kroto
of the University of Sussex. But he doubts whether such controls could be
enforced. 鈥淭his wouldn鈥檛 achieve anything other than delay,鈥� he says. 鈥淚t sounds
like a knee-jerk reaction after 11 September,鈥� he says.
Ross Anderson, a computer scientist at Cambridge University, fears that the
new controls could spread far beyond knowledge of illicit weapons. 鈥淚t
potentially affects every type of science and technology and a fair amount of
medicine too,鈥� he warns. For example, sharing software designed to screen for
proteins or crack cryptographic codes could become illegal overnight.
The DTI is not stopping at barring sensitive information going overseas. It
proposes that information cannot be transferred within Britain if the recipient
intends to export the information it contains. This could apply to information
destined for an internationally distributed journal. It could prevent scientists
from assessing and replicating their colleagues鈥� work鈥攁nd so threaten the
very basis of the way scientists work.
The umbrella group Universities UK fears the bill could have dire
consequences for collaborative research. A government right to vet scientific
papers will infringe academic freedom, says a UUK spokesman.
The bill will also make it compulsory for universities to license overseas
students working in areas that might be connected with a weapon of mass
destruction.鈥� Currently, this is only voluntary.
The DTI says the bill, which began life in 1998 in response to the
arms-to-Iraq affair, will merely bring Britain into line with European laws,
which extend export controls to 鈥渋ntangibles鈥� like software and e-mails.
The DTI promises that the bill will be amended to protect academic interests
after it has passed through Parliament. 鈥淭he new controls therefore will not
prevent the publication of academic research papers, nor require their prior
vetting by the government,鈥� a spokesperson assured 快猫短视频. But
critics say these measures should be in the bill itself, so that they can be
amended by Parliament.