[Philip Lelyveld comment: The EFF makes three good recommendations in this editorial. Like any good advocacy organization, they usually greatly overstate threats and underplay the negative ramifications of their positions ("While the threat of incarceration continues to stifle innovation on and off campus,..." much more in the EFF's mind than in the real world), but these are well-reasoned and workable - at least on first read.]
There are some simple steps that universities can take to foster inventiveness in their campus communities:
1. Create a legal intake mechanism or program for students who receive subpoenas and are threatened by computer crime laws. Student innovators need to know where to go to receive help.
2. Publish a guide on CFAA and in-state computer crime laws so that students and researchers can better understand the contours of the laws that may be leveraged against them.
3. Universities should be pushing for computer crime legal reform and come out with strong institutional support for reform efforts on the federal and state level.
- Read the full story here: http://www.wired.com/2014/07/students-who-push-tech-boundaries-should-be-encouraged-not-punished?curator=MediaREDEF