As George Bush was finally declared the winner of the hotly
contested U.S. presidential election, a new research paper has
concluded that the Texas governor will assume a hands-off approach
to the Internet and technological initiatives.
"The top items on the Bush policy list are not of high priority
for the Internet," Dave McClure, chief executive of the US Internet
Industry Association, wrote in a report."They include an expansion
of H1-B visas, promotion of biotechnology and reform of the
technology export rules. Even in these areas, technology will not
be a legislative priority."
It is though difficult to tell how Bush's non-interventionist
theories will play out during the next congressional session, which
could be full of important initiatives on copyright, Internet
gambling, unsolicited commercial email and infrastructure issues
such as open access, reports news.com.
"Generally, we can expect these issues to reflect a business
orientation," McClure wrote of Bush's hands-off stance on the
Internet and technology. "The consumer issues that have been the
hallmark of the Federal Trade Commission and the Federal
Communications Commission under the Clinton administration will not
go away, but the hard line taken against businesses--such as the
antitrust actions against Microsoft and the hard stances taken in
merger reviews--are far less likely."
Bush's approach is a stark contrast to the stated goals, track
record and public perception of electoral opponent Al Gore.
At a recent lecture at the University of London, Vinton Cerf, co
founder of the Internet and senior vice-president for Internet
architecture and technology at MCI WorldCom, outlined how Gore had
played a crucial role in guiding Internet enabling legislation
through Congress.
Cerf also confirmed that Gore had not claimed to have founded
the Internet as political opponents had suggested during the
electoral campaign.