Congress blasted for 'destructive' tech legislation

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By Cara Garretson

(IDG) -- Current members of the U.S. Congress have introduced hundreds of technology-related bills, many of which signal a willingness among legislators to regulate this industry sector instead of letting market forces rule, according to a policy research group's report released Monday.

Two members of the Cato Institute, known for its antiregulatory stance on many policy issues, pinpointed twelve bills introduced by the 107th Congress that demonstrate lawmakers' interest in involving the government in the technology and Internet markets, much as it has been involved in the telecommunication market. The report was written by Wayne Crews, Cato's director of technology policy, and Adam Thierer, the group's director of telecommunication studies.

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The report says "...there is good evidence that policy makers -- whether through conscious design or not -- are adopting the telecom regulatory paradigm for the tech sector. It appears that the tech sector may be pigeonholed into that paradigm simply because it offers a familiar set of rules and a bank of regulatory agencies that can be activated on command."

It labels twelve bills "destructive" because they aim to increase government involvement in the technology or telecommunication sector, promote regulatory decision making over voluntary action of the industry's players, or threaten civil liberties of U.S. citizens.

Among the bills cited by the report are the Telecom Fair Competition Enforcement Act (S-1364), which penalizes incumbent local exchange carriers that do not open their networks to competing telecommunication companies; the Media Marketing Accountability Act of 2001 (S-792 and H.R.-2246), designed to regulate electronic advertising and marketing; Mobile Telephone Driving Safety Act (S. 927) and Call Responsibly and Stay Healthy Act (H.R.-1837), which seek to ban cellular phone use by drivers; and the Music Online Competition Act (H.R. 2724) that aims to facilitate online music distribution by removing a number of statutory hurdles.

One attorney who specializes in telecommunication law said he doesn't believe the Internet will wind up being regulated in the same manner as telecommunication infrastructure and services.

"Telecommunications is regulated because its roots are in a government-franchised monopoly ... whereas in the Internet world there has never been an exclusive franchise," said Rick Brecher, a lawyer with Greenberg Traurig in Washington, D.C. "There may come a time when telecom services are regulated more like Internet services; the direction [of Congress] is to reduce the regulation of telecommunications rather than increase that of Internet services."

The Cato Institute report concludes that legislators are poised to put the technology industry under assault, and urges policy-makers to "...let the Internet and cyberspace evolve with minimal federal intrusion and regulatory interference."