Congress Sees Rise in Tech-Related Legislation

More than 500 technology-related bills have been introduced in the current session of Congress, a sign that lawmakers have lost their reluctance to regulate the Internet for fear of discouraging its growth, according to a study released Monday.

Tech-related legislation accounts for 10% of all the bills introduced so far, according to Technology Daily, a Washington publication that tracks technology policy. Experts attribute the surge to post-Sept. 11 security concerns and aggressive lobbying by Silicon Valley companies. The legislation study was conducted by the Cato Institute, a Washington think tank.

Among other things, the measures seek to promote faster Internet access, limit online gambling, expand taxation of electronic commerce, require the compulsory licensing of online music and bolster protection of personal information in cyberspace.

Bill sponsors say action is necessary because technology and the Internet have become a more important part of society and people’s lives.

“Blanket deregulatory policy has not produced the public interest benefits everybody thought they would,” said Andy Davis, a spokesman for Sen. Ernest F. Hollings (D-S.C.), the Senate Commerce Committee chairman. He said “stronger enforcement” and federal intervention is needed in some areas.

Such sentiment is a departure from the Internet’s early years, when only a few issues--mostly online pornography and e-mail spam--attracted notice from lawmakers.

Back then, Congress and industry executives agreed that government must keep its hands off the Internet to allow the complex and dynamic technology sector to be innovative and grow.

But with the economy stumbling, lawmakers now want to tinker with the leading symbol of the new economy. What’s more, Silicon Valley has invaded Washington in droves and begun lobbying for a long list of legislation.

The bills also show that the Internet remains a convenient political target, said Alan Davidson, associate director of the Center for Democracy and Technology in Washington. “There’s a desire to find someone to blame for society’s ills,” he said.

Some experts see little public groundswell for much of the technology legislation and say few of the bills have a chance of becoming law.