Federal Posse Will Track Internet Outlaws

0 Comments | Insight on the News, Sept 6, 1999 | by John Elvin

It's showdown time at the Internet corral. Cyberspace is becoming a bit too much like the wild frontier, so Vice President Al Gore has formed a posse to deal with the bad guys. He's announced a new executive order establishing an interagency working group to look into "unlawful conduct involving the use of the Internet."

Normally, executive orders come out of the Oval Office, but President Clinton signed this one and then handed it off to the veep, most likely due to Gore's expressed paternal interest in the Internet. (Gore, you may recall, got the attention of a lot of people not so long ago with his remark about having invented the Internet).

Among areas to be looked into are illegal sales of guns, explosives and controlled substances. Insight's inquiry on "mail-order weapons" turned up more than 3,000 responses at one Website, so maybe Al's on to something. Congress already is in on the act, regulating the sale of alcohol on the Net and considering numerous other restrictions on freewheeling electronic commerce.