Congress Wants To Let Private Companies Own The Law
The Pro Codes Act has been submitted as an amendment to the “must pass” National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA). It allows copyrighted standards to be incorporated by reference into the law, preventing people from accessing or sharing these standards except through the systems the standards development organizations have that "makes all portions of the standard so incorporated publicly accessible online at no monetary cost and in a format that includes a searchable table of contents and index, or equivalent aids to facilitate the location of specific content. " Note that that does not include searchable text, the ability to access it without a login, or any ability to host it elsewhere (such as alongside the laws that incorporate it).
The NDAA bill:
rules.house.gov/bill/118/hr-8070
The amendment:
