IP: CDT Release on Administration's 'Electronic Commerce'

[David Farber <farber () cis upenn edu>]

    CDT APPLAUDS CLINTON ADMINISTRATION'S "HANDS OFF THE NET" APPROACH


Press Release                      Contact: Jerry Berman, Executive Director
For Immediate Release                       +1.202.637.9800


Washington, DC -- July 1, 1997.   The Center for Democracy and Technology
(CDT) today applauded the release of the Clinton Administration's
"Framework for Global Electronic Commerce."  The report, drafted by an
administration task force headed by Ira Magaziner, outlines a deregulatory
approach to encouraging the growth of the Internet.


"The Administration has outlined a broad vision of the Internet as a
decentralized, global communications network free of heavy handed
government regulation." said Jerry Berman, CDT's Executive Director. "We
believe the Administration has the right approach." Berman added.


"The report represents a new beginning and symbolizes an important change
in perception of how to encourage the growth of the Internet to maximize
the benefits of the Information Age." Berman said.  "The Clinton
Administration took office in 1993 amid talk of a government spawned
'Information Superhighway' with 500 channels and nothing on.  This view has
now been overtaken by the decentralized, open Internet on which every user
is a publisher.  It is clear that the big government metaphor no longer
fits."


CDT is particularly pleased that the report calls for no new government
content regulations on the Internet in the wake of the Supreme Court's
decision to overturn the Communications Decency Act, and instead seeks to
encourage use of currently available user empowerment tools. "We look
forward to working with the Administration to find ways to empower users
and parents to make content choices for themselves and their families based
on their own values" Berman added.


CDT expressed concern that the report calls for a US encryption policy
based on cold war-era export restrictions and domestic key recovery systems
-- a position which has been widely criticized by Internet users, civil
liberties advocates, and large segments of the computer and communications
industries.


"The Administration's 'big government 'encryption policy seems inconsistent
with the vision of the Internet articulated in the report", Berman said.
"We hope to work with the Administration to re-focus their views on
encryption to ensure that Americans can trust in the security of the
networks."


CDT also expressed support for the Administration's effort to encourage
other governments to adopt the approach outlined in the report. "It is
critical that the US government articulate this vision globally and
encourage other countries to protect the open nature of the Internet.
Otherwise, the Global Information Infrastructure will balkanize and never
reach it's fullest potential." said Daniel Weitzner, CDT Deputy Director.


The Center for Democracy and Technology (CDT) is a non-profit public
interest organization working to advance democratic values and constitional
civil liberties on the Internet and other computer and communications media.


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