Internet Experts Voice Opinions On Capitol Hill; AIM Advisory Board Members Meet with Leading Members of Congress

Business Wire, July 29, 1999

WASHINGTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--July 29, 1999--

High-profile executives from leading Internet companies including Buena Vista Internet Group, Yahoo!, SBC Communications and Microwarehouse, met with leading members of Congress and their staff yesterday as part of the Association of Interactive Media's Annual Advisory Board Hill Day.

"The only way the Internet industry will be able to defend itself from government regulation is meeting face-to-face with members of Congress, especially those most interested in protecting this burgeoning marketplace," says Ben Isaacson, Acting Executive Director of AIM. "Every day a new piece of Internet legislation appears somewhere in Congress. Only through meetings like yesterday can these issues of interest be brought to the forefront of the industry's attention."

One of the issues the Advisory Board members met with several Congressional members about was the future of online commerce. Isaacson said that even with the existing three-year moratorium on Internet taxation (the result of the much anticipated Internet Tax Freedom Act passed last year), the concern of how vigorously the cities, counties, and states are proposing to apply collection procedures on consumer online sales is disturbing the work of the Advisory Commission on Electronic Commerce. AIM is one of the 19 members represented on the commission, which combines interests from the private and public sectors.

AIM Advisory Board members met with Sen. Judd Greg (R-NH), Sen. Conrad Burns (R-MT), Sen. John Ashcroft (R-MO), Rep. Rick Boucher (D-VA), Rep. Bob Goodlatte (R-VA), Rep. Steve Chabot, and staff with Majority Whip Tom Delay (R-TX), the House Commerce Committee, Sen. Frank Murkowski, Rep. Gary Miller, Rep. Chris Cox, Rep. Anna Eshoo, and Rep. Chip Pickering. As a result of these meetings, additional issues emerged and were addressed from an industry perspective. Those issues included the management of unsolicited commercial email, securing online privacy, defining interstate ecommerce and the emergence of digital signatures.

"This event on Capital Hill provided a superb forum for AIM members and members of Congress to exchange ideas in a formal, yet relaxed setting," said John Lawlor, president of Boca Raton, FL-based CENTRAQ, a leading email marketing company.

The day-long event culminated with a 100 person AIM "Dinner and a Deal" at La Colline Restaurant on Capitol Hill.

Formed in 1993, the Association for Interactive Media (AIM), an independent subsidiary of The Direct Marketing Association (DMA), partners with its members to defend the Internet and interactive media industry in Washington, to promote consumer confidence, and to provide successful business-to-business networking opportunities. By supporting AIM, the industry ensures that there remains a healthy marketplace for products and services in the new digital economy. For more information, see the AIM Web site at http://www.interactivehq.org.