Code Swaraj
developed democracy, we the people know the rules by which we choose to govern ourselves and we have the capability to change those rules to make our world better.
Why is access to public safety codes restricted?
In our modern world, there are some special kinds of rules, and those are public safety codes. These technical standards govern how we build safe homes and offices, protecting workers of machinery in factories, how to use pesticides properly, the safety of automobiles, safeguarding the integrity of our streams and oceans, and many more topics. These are some of our most important law.
Throughout the world, with only a few exceptions, public safety codes that have the force of law have been deliberately restricted. In the United States, a series of nongovernmental organisations develop our building and fire codes and they are then enacted into law. Yet, those codes cost hundreds of dollars per copy and, most importantly, copyright is asserted so no person can speak the law without a licence from a private party.
In India, the same thing has happened, but it is the government that restricts distribution of vital public safety information. The Bureau of Indian Standards asserts copyright over these codes, charging an astounding 3,760 for a book, the National Building Code of India. The Bureau maintains that these crucial public safety standards are their private property and anybody who wishes to read or speak the content requires a license and must pay a fee. Most importantly, the Bureau maintains that no person may make a more usable version of these codes without their permission, which they will not grant.
I heard that when the government-wide disaster preparation task force met and suggested that all government officials charged with emergency response possess copies of this vital safety code, the Bureau rose to inform the officials that they would only provide this material if each official entered into a license agreement and paid their ₹13,760 fee. No copying would be permitted.
I set out to change this situation a decade ago. The small NGO I head started purchasing safety codes with the force of law from all over the world. In the US, I purchased, scanned, and posted over 1,000 federally mandated safety standards. In India, I purchased all 19,000 India Standards and posted them on the Internet.
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