A Safe Bet: There’ll Be More Legislation

The safest prediction regarding government attempts to regulate the Internet is that there will be more of them.

The number of Internet-related bills introduced in Congress soared from just 75 two years ago to more than 350 just in the first half of the current congressional session. Experts say that trend will surely continue.

But even as the policies proliferate, the primary issues they address have remained fairly constant: privacy, free speech, encryption and taxation.

Privacy is the most active front, with consumers increasingly concerned over how much personal information they shed while shopping or surfing online.

In Washington, industry and consumer groups are engaged in a pitched lobbying battle. The online industry would like to preserve the status quo, which relies heavily on industry self-regulation. But consumer groups are pushing for new privacy laws and even a new agency to enforce them.

There are at least 13 privacy-related bills percolating in Congress, ranging from one that would require companies to post and comply with privacy policies to the “Electronic Privacy Bill of Rights Act” proposed by Rep. Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.). The latter would require consumer consent for all collection and use of data by Internet firms.

There are also ongoing tensions between the U.S. and the European Union, which has adopted stringent new privacy regulations and has threatened to block data flows to the U.S. unless it complies with them. The U.S. is attempting to negotiate a “safe harbor” that would protect American companies from such disruptions.

On the free-speech front, the government is still trying to find a way to protect children from pornography and other objectionable material online without trampling the 1st Amendment.

The Child Online Protection Act, passed in 1998, remains in legal limbo. The act would force commercial Web sites to use credit card checks or other systems to make sure children do not encounter material deemed “harmful” to them.

Civil liberties groups have sued to overturn the law, arguing that it amounts to censorship. Last year, a federal judge blocked enforcement of the act until the case is resolved, probably in the Supreme Court.

Another attempt to protect children, a bill sponsored by Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), also faces stiff opposition from civil liberties groups. The bill would require libraries to install filtering software before receiving federal funding.

After years of bitter disagreement over encryption export controls, the government and the tech industry seemed finally to be inching toward a compromise in 1999.

Encryption software allows users to scramble sensitive information sent over the Net, preventing others from intercepting and reading it. The government, concerned that the technology could aid terrorists, has prohibited U.S. companies from exporting advanced encryption systems.

In September, the White House announced that it intends to ease those restrictions. But industry leaders are waiting to have a look at the details of the plan, which won’t be announced until next year.

Finally, 2000 could be a decisive year in determining whether the Net will remain a tax-free zone. A commission appointed to study online taxation has so far appeared sharply divided.

Virginia Gov. James S. Gilmore leads a contingent that would like to extend the moratorium on online taxes. But fellow commissioner Gov. Mike Leavitt of Utah spearheads a group that is fighting to impose taxes, arguing that online companies do not deserve such an advantage over conventional retailers.

The Advisory Commission on Electronic Commerce, as it is called, is scheduled to deliver its report in April.