Clinton administration Internet czar Ira Magaziner said today that the White House would support an effort to develop a basic international agreement on cyberspace governance, but would oppose the formation of a regulatory agency to enforce the pact.
"We think there needs to be international understandings on a variety of issues - some of which may need to be formal agreements, some informal understandings and common approaches," Magaziner told reporters in Brussels.
Last month, European Union telecommunications chief Martin Bangemann suggested drawing up a charter to deal with questions such as technical standards, potentially illegal content, encryption, and privacy.
Currently, the Net is both subject to no regulation, since its global scope places it beyond recognizable political jurisdiction, and subject to regulation by any national, provincial, or local government that wants to attempt to levy a tax, halt a game of chance, censor a political manifesto, or black out nude pictures.
The agencies with wide influence over the Net exercise power on a semi-official basis, with recognition in some national sectors but none internationally: For instance, the Internet Assigned Numbers Authority, which handles addressing issues on multiple levels, or Network Solutions Inc., which holds an exclusive US government contract to register domain names such as .com.
Recognizing the lack of official standing, a global group was formed last year by the Internet Assigned Numbers Authority, the Internet Society, and others to create a new regime for domain registration: the International Ad Hoc Committee.
Magaziner said the Clinton administration would back a pact setting out general principles rather than legally binding rules.
"The idea is it should be very flexible, but at the same time try to find the basis for common positions," he said.
He said some kind of body might be needed to help implement principles and resolve disputes - but it should not be invested with enforcement authority. Reuters contributed to this report.
