New Caucus Targets Those ‘Lost in Cyberspace’

Rep. Christopher Cox says most members of Congress, like many of the citizens they govern, are still dumbfounded by the Internet. “Easily more than half of the members are lost in cyberspace,” the Newport Beach Republican says.

That can be a problem when drafting laws that regulate the global computer network, so Cox and 19 other legislators recently formed what they call the Internet Caucus. Their goal is to goad fellow legislators into joining the Information Age.

To join the caucus, members must pledge that they will educate themselves and others about the Internet, and that they will each put up a home page on the Internet within 90 days. Members from both parties and both houses, including House Speaker Newt Gingrich, have joined the caucus.

That Cox is a founding member comes as little surprise. The congressman is a techie and has been behind efforts to keep the Federal Communications Commission from regulating the Internet.

His Internet philosophy is borrowed directly from the “information wants to be free” crowd that founded the Net. “I’m concerned that, in an abundance of misdirected kindness, the government will over-regulate the Internet in its infancy and it will suffer crib death,” Cox said.

He keeps in touch with friends and relatives by e-mail, has taught himself how to install boards in his computers, and can rattle off his favorite Internet sites (NASA, a history of mathematics page, the National Journal) with hardly a pause.

Nevertheless, when it comes to communicating with his constituents, Cox relies on a rather dated medium. Even though the office gets numerous letters at the congressman’s e-mail address, “we prefer to answer in writing,” he said.

Cox’s Net home page can be found at https://www.house.gov/republican-policy/ and his e-mail address is chriscox@hr.house.gov. The Internet Caucus home page is at https://www.house.gov/white/internet-caucus/netcauc.html.

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Greg Miller covers high technology for The Times. He can be reached at (714) 966-7830 and at greg.miller@latimes.com