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From...
Governments can't handle Internet, says Magaziner
September 11, 1998
Web posted at 1:20 PM EDT
by Jana Sanchez-Klein
LONDON (IDG) -- European countries should cooperate with the U.S. to create an Internet that is regulated by the industry rather than by governments, said Ira Magaziner, senior adviser to U.S. President Bill Clinton for Internet policy development, at The Wall Street Journal Europe's Fifth Annual CEO Summit on Converging Technologies.
"We are trying to come to an agreement with the European Union where they recognize our approach," said Magaziner, a speaker at the conference here today.
He outlined the importance of the Internet to the U.S. and world economies and said that it was not up to governments to attempt to control Internet use and commerce. Magaziner attributed one-third of all economic growth in the U.S. to the building of the Internet. But, he warned, "if goods are overtaxed or overregulated, it's hard to do business. The private sector should lead."
Governments are ill-equipped to handle the Internet, because it changes too rapidly, it's too decentralized and too international, suggested Magaziner.
"The digital age moves too quickly for government action," he said.
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Magaziner did not suggest that the government has no role to play in electronic commerce, however. The ideal model is that buyers and sellers should come together freely on the Internet, without government intervention. "The role of governments is to provide the legal framework for writing contracts."
"Instead of passing omnibus laws, leave it alone and let it develop," he said.
The protection of privacy for users of the Internet is a fundamental value of both the U.S. and Europe, said Magaziner. But instead of monitoring commercial Web sites to make certain that companies sponsoring those sites are respecting visitor's private information, such as credit card numbers, the government should stay out of it. "No government agency can monitor all of those Web site. We should empower consumers to protect themselves," he said.
Magaziner suggested that business organizations should certify that online vendors have systems in place to protect customer privacy. He suggested that an organization such as the Better Business Bureau in the U.S. or similar consumer protection groups in Europe, could offer Web-based businesses a seal of approval if they meet stringent standards for protecting consumer privacy.
Jana Sanchez-Klein writes for the IDG News Service in London.