---------- Forwarded message ---------- Date: Thu, 25 Aug 94 18:20:01 CDT From: Dave Hurst <hurst@vistatech.com> To: nexus-gaia@netcom.com, fringeware@illuminati.io.com, leri@pyramid.com Subject: FCC Regulation (fwd) Forwarded from the com-priv mailing list: (UPI) WASHINGTON, DC. The White House confirmed today that the FCC will become the Federal agency to assume responsibility for regulating the so-called "Information Super Highway." Today this consists of an autonomous network of computers known collectively as the Internet. Usually reliable sources revealed that the government is becoming increasingly apprehensive about the Internet's uncontrolled growth and the potential for damage to national security. A highly placed government source was quoted as saying "...now anyone with a thousand dollars can obtain the computer hardware and software necessary to communicate on the Internet. Irresponsible individuals can easily transmit messages worldwide. Clearly, there is a need for government regulation." In response to these concerns the FCC is rumored to be preparing restrictive regulations to assure "responsible use" of the Internet. The FCC is reportedly cooperating with other national and international agencies to coordinate these regulations. Several former eastern bloc countries and Italy are reportedly coordinating their internal regulation planning with the FCC. Although details are sketchy at this time, these new regulations are likely to take the form of some sort of license examination for Internet users. Despite the fact that a costly new government bureaucracy will be established, it will likely save money in the long run, according to government sources. "A single USENET posting may cost hundreds if not thousands of dollars, therefore, if licensing reduces such postings by only 10% the savings will more than recover these additional costs", said a highly placed government source. Expert government watchers have been able to piece together a fairly comprehensive picture of the soon-to-be-proposed license requirements. Based upon the past history of the FCC, the test will likely consist of three parts: theory, jurisprudence and practice. The theory portion of the examination will include written examination of the principles of digital logic, elements of generic machine language programming, and comprehensive knowledge of TCP/IP and network interfacing hardware. The jurisprudence portion will assess the candidate's basic knowledge of the regulations governing use of the Internet and will cover ethical as well as legal issues. Licensing will likely include an "Internet oath" requirement in which the candidate will swear to uphold certain basic standards of conduct. Users of the Internet will be required to broadcast their license numbers at logon and intermittently after connection to the Internet. The practice portion of the examination is likely to be the most controversial. Reportedly, all candidates must pass a typing skills examination and achieve no less than 40 words per minute to obtain a (temporary) novice license. This must be raised to 80 words per minute before a regular-status license will be issued. Novices will restricted to operating networked computers having speeds of less than 5 Mhz or operation of SLIP or dial-up connections of no greater than 2400 baud. (It is rumored that the FCC will make 5 Mhz replacement crystals available at a nominal charge to temporarily slow computers of novice operators). The FCC also recognizes that there are conditions when terminal emulators are not available. Therefore, an expert class will be established for communication using only numeric keypads and bi-digit numeric displays. Although needing a minimum of equipment, this mode will require sending, receiving and manual translation of raw ASCII codes. Guidelines for minimum communication rates for this mode have yet to be established while the FCC awaits public input. Although felt to be a desirable goal for all users, this class of license will only be required by individuals operating wireless (RF) LANS. Asked what the effect of proposed regulations would have on the Internet, a highly placed official noted that these rules "should not be considered prohibitive, as they simply bring regulation of the Internet in line with other communication modes under FCC governance." However, the source did feel that such regulations should be very helpful in restraining the rapid growth of the Internet.