Ask U.S. Chief Technology Officer Aneesh Chopra a question on Buzz Out Loud
We're very pleased to have federal CTO Aneesh Chopra joining us on Buzz Out Loud this Tuesday. We'll start our live show a half hour early--1 p.m. ET, 10 a.m. PT--with a half-hour talk with Mr. Chopra.
We'll ask him a bunch of the obvious stuff, like what does the CTO do? We'll talk about Net Neutrality, open source, etc. But what do you want to ask him?
Post your questions in the comments below. We'll choose a selection of them for the show.

Tom Merritt appears on
CNET TV, specializing in help and how-to and the ever popular Top 5
lists. He also co-hosts CNET's The Real Deal podcast.
Jason Howell can
often be found producing Buzz Out Loud from the audio studios at CNET,
updating XML feeds from the comfort of his cubicle, and saying "uh-oh"
from time to time. 

Questions:
1) Last week, a college student was ordered to pay $675,000 to the RIAA for illegally downloading 30 songs; that kind of debt could seriously impact someone's life. Is this an instance of 'the punishment fitting the crime'? Is there a role for government in and regulating such rulings (something akin to tort reform) in the future?
2) You have previously mentioned health IT as one of your top priorities. As a doctor, the effective rolling out of a cohesive EMR system is something we have all been keeping an eye on as the utter lack of cohesion even within hospitals is readily apparent. To that effect, do you plan on supporting the distribution of a single EMR system, country-wide? If so, would you recommend the current VA LIS system or would you support a private effort such as Google's? Would such integration be mandatory or voluntary? If mandated, what kind of timeline seems feasible?
Thank you for this opportunity.
Sincerely,
Karl Robstad, MD ('Dr. Karl')
To add to the second question, would a national EMR system give patients full, unfettered access to their medical records, or would there still be an element of professional privilege available?
Sorry for the add-on!
-Dr. K
While I understand that the FCC is currently investigating wireless open access (RM-11361) and handset exclusivity (RM-11497) and that it may not be appropriate to comment on those investigations, my question to Mr. Chopra is how does the Obama administration view Net Neutrality with regard to the mobile product and service space in general and do you believe that it is the role of government agencies such as the FCC, FTC, etc. to regulate mobile application stores like the App Store to ensure equal footing for developers and to promote consumer choice? Thank you for your response!
Also, open choice for consumers among cell phone carriers: please make that happen! Thank you.
How do you feel about federal preemption in terms of tech law? Right now, each state and DC have their own data security laws. Firms engaged in interstate commerce then have to comply with each state's unique regulations, but cyber crimes are often across state boundaries, involve entities spread across state lines, and are often perpetrated by people in foreign countries. Doesn't one federal law make the most sense for these kinds of crimes?
Michael Griffith
Washington, DC
1) What is the Administrations guidance on balancing the emerging capabilities of social networking, and the security constraints? Some issues seem to be easy, such as banning the use of peer-to-peer file sharing on Government computer. Others, such as restricting the use of Twitter, would remove what is becoming an important tool for policy makers to communicate directly to people. Given that using Twitter, Facebook and puts some security and operational readiness concerns into non-government hands, how seriously can the Government afford to move services into depending on social networking as a major form of communication?
2)How do you balance the Green IT initiative and other policies that direct a 4 year hardware refresh cycle with the Microsoft 3 year product cycle (since the Government is overwhelmingly reliant on Microsoft?). At what point does the Government (FDCC?) determine that "this version of Office is good enough" to bypass the next? Will the Government lead breaking out of a productivity suite driven exchange system for documents/presentations?
3) As the military increasingly is forced to restrict access (operational security concerns, IA concerns, and bandwidth concerns) do you think that the NIPR net will become more restrictive at it's root levels?
1) Before consumers write angry letters to their representatives or senators in D.C. about the lack of internet infrastructure progress, what underated, long-pole, or bottle-neck issues should they consider first to temper and refine their argument and proposed solution?
Game play:
2) Actual tennis or Wii Tennis?
Supreme court judgments:
3) What information technology related issues do you feel are going to hit the high court in the next couple years?
Very best,
Shalin Mody
Dallas, TX
--Sam
What are the goals to address the Urban-Rural digital divide? If none have been defined at this time, when can we expect them to be set? What committee(s) will be addressing this issue?
Thanks for your time and insight!
Very best,
Shalin Mody
Dallas, TX
Why are cable companies not regulated for their anti-competitive, monopolistic practices?
Is there a way for your office to support and accelerate a needed update to the nation's air traffic control system for security, throughput, and even energy efficiency (as a result of "file and fly")? If so, what can citizens do to encourage that?
Thanks for your time and insight!
Very best,
Shalin Mody
Dallas, TX
Thanks for consideration.
I understand that it was contracted out.
What do you plan to do in future to ensure that government program sites don't get surprised from high traffic? And what was the cause of the "beaucratic problems"?
2) Use of technology in government is often interpreted narrowly to mean use of technology for services to citizens. Not as many countries think of technology as a tool to improve governance. Good governance can include elements such as democracy, democratic processes and institutions, human rights, the rule of law and the independence of the judiciary, effective, just and honest government , openness, participation/inclusiveness, accountability, effectiveness and coherence. How would you use technology in a wider sense to improve governance ?
-Tanya Gupta, Washington DC
-
by tieforces
August 3, 2009 8:28 PM PDT
- What is up with the disclaimer on the cash for clunkers website having me accept my computer as federal government property?
-
Like this
Reply to this comment
-
Showing 1 of 2 pages (33 Comments)