In 1999 the United States Congress passed the Y2K Act, a major—but temporary—effort at reshaping American tort law. The Act strictly limited the scope and applicability of lawsuits related to liability for the Year 2000 Problem. This article excavates the process that led to the Act, including its unlikely signature by President Clinton. The history presented here is based on a reconsideration of the Y2K crisis as a major episode in the history of computing. The Act, and the Y2K crisis more broadly, expose the complex interconnections of software, code, and law at the end of the 20th century, and, taken seriously, argue for the appreciation of the role of liability in the history of technology.

中文翻译：

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责任分配 Y2K的法律和政治斗争

1999 年，美国国会通过了千年虫法案，这是重塑美国侵权法的一项重大但暂时的努力。该法案严格限制了与 2000 年问题责任相关的诉讼范围和适用性。本文挖掘了导致该法案的过程，包括其不太可能由克林顿总统签署。这里介绍的历史是基于重新考虑 Y2K 危机作为计算历史上的一个重大事件。该法案以及更广泛的 Y2K 危机暴露了 20 世纪末软件、代码和法律之间复杂的相互联系，并认真地论证了对责任在技术史上的作用的认识。